The US has vetoed a UN Security Council resolution that recommended full UN membership for the “State of Palestine.”
The United States on Thursday vetoed a request seeking full UN membership for the “State of Palestine” at the UN Security Council on Thursday.
“It remains the US view that the most expeditious path toward statehood for the Palestinian people is through direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority with the support of the United States and other partners,” a US representative told Reuters news agency before the vote.
The vote was taken by the 15-member Security Council on a draft resolution introduced by Algeria recommending that “the State of Palestine be admitted to membership of the United Nations.”
The draft received 12 votes in favor, two abstentions and the US veto against.
Security Council resolutions require at least nine affirmative votes and no vetoes from any of the five permanent members — the US, UK, France, Russia and China — to pass.
“We have long been clear that premature actions in New York, even with the best intentions, will not achieve statehood for the Palestinian people,” the US representative told Reuters.
Palestinians currently enjoy non-member observer status at the UN. Full membership requires Security Council approval, as well as backing from at least two-thirds of the UN General Assembly.
What to know about the “State of Palestine”
The first Oslo Accord between the Israelis and Palestinians, signed in September 1993, created the basis for Palestinian self-government in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
This was followed by the establishment of the Palestinian Authority (PA), which became the institutional arm of the Palestinian territory and continues to function as a government with a president and a prime minister. The Palestinian territories have not yet gained the status of a state.
In 2013, Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority, ordered the use of the term “State of Palestine” instead of “Palestinian Authority” in official communications.
In 2012 the representation of the PLO (Palestinian Liberation Organization) was granted non-member observer status at the UN as the State of Palestine for the Palestinian Territories. 138 of 193 UN members voted for the recognition, with 9 voting against and 41 abstentions, including Germany.
