US blocks UN Palestinian membership bid

On Thursday, the United States used its veto power at the UN Security Council, effectively preventing the United Nations from granting full membership to the Palestinian Authority and thereby blocking the recognition of a Palestinian state.

The resolution, which would have granted the observer State of Palestine full membership at the UN, received a vote of 12 in favour, while the UK and Switzerland abstained from voting. Russia, China, France, Japan, South Korea, Ecuador, Algeria, Malta, Slovenia, Sierra Leone, Mozambique and Guyana voted yes. The US ultimately blocked the measure.

The United States said an independent Palestinian state should be established via direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, rather than through actions taken at the United Nations.

"Recent escalations make it even more important to support good-faith efforts to find lasting peace between Israel and a fully independent, viable and sovereign Palestinian state," UN secretary Ggeneral Antonio Guterres told the council earlier on Thursday.