US Vetoes Palestine's Bid For UN Membership Amid Conflict in Gaza

Manhattan: On Thursday, the United States exercised its veto power to block a widely supported United Nations resolution aiming to grant full United Nations membership to Palestine.

The Security Council, comprising 15 members, saw 12 votes in favour, while the United States opposed and two abstentions.

The resolution sought to recommend Palestine as the 194th member of the United Nations in the General Assembly, where there are no vetoes.

With over 140 countries already recognised, the state of Palestine, so its inclusion would have been approved.

Before the vote, Vedant Patel, the US deputy State Department spokesman said that the US has “been very clear consistently that premature actions in New York — even with the best intentions — will not achieve statehood for the Palestinian people.”

This is the second attempt by Palestine for full membership, amid the ongoing tensions in Gaza, which has heightened the focus on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict at centre stage.

(Inputs from AP)