The United States on Thursday effectively stopped the United Nations from recognizing a Palestinian state by casting a veto in the Security Council to deny the Palestinian Authority full membership of the world body.
The U.S. said an independent Palestinian state should be established through direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority and not through U.N. action.
It vetoed a draft resolution that recommended to the 193-member U.N. General Assembly that “the State of Palestine be admitted to membership of the United Nations.”
Britain and Switzerland abstained, while the remaining 12 council members voted yes.
The Palestinian push for full U.N. membership comes six months into a war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, and as Israel is expanding settlements in the occupied West Bank.
More to come
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