UNITED NATIONS (AFP) - UN Security Council members held closed-door talks Friday on the barrier that Israel is putting up around the Palestinian West Bank, officials said.

The session was demanded by Syria on behalf of the Arab group at the United Nations. Syria has also submitted a draft resolution condemning Israel and demanding that a public UN session be held on the topic.

The public meeting could go ahead next Tuesday.

Normally, motions condemning Israel are vetoed by the United States, which holds the Security Council presidency for October.

Nasser al Kidwa, the Palestinian representative at the United Nations, said the draft resolution had widespread support. "We have broad support and, I believe, an international consensus," Kidwa said, adding: "We hope this resolution will not be blocked." Kidwa said the barrier had "nothing to do with security. ... It is an expansionist wall annexing de facto huge chunks of Palestinian territories."

Israel has expressed strong opposition to the resolution. Kidwa, however, declared that "if Israel is allowed to build, it will be the end of the peace process. It is just as serious as that." The resolution stresses the Security Council's opposition to "settlement activities in the Occupied Territories and to any activities involving the confiscation of land, disruption of the livelihood of protected persons and de facto annexation of land."