US vetoes UN vote on full membership for Palestine, citing security concerns

The United States decided on Thursday to veto the United Nations resolution regarding Palestine. The resolution recommended the General Assembly conduct a voting process involving a broader group of members to grant Palestine the status of a full UN member state.

During the Security Council voting procedure, 12 countries supported the resolution. The United Kingdom and Switzerland decided to abstain from voting.

Deputy Permanent Representative of the USA to the United Nations Robert Wood argued that the members of the UN Security Council have an extremely important task: ensuring that all their actions serve international peace and security.

Wood referred to a report by the Committee on the Admission of New Members indicating no unanimity among the members regarding whether the applicant meets the membership criteria per art. IV of the United Nations Charter.

- We have long called on the Palestinian Authority to undertake necessary reforms to help establish the attributes of readiness for statehood and note that Hamas – a terrorist organisation – is currently exerting power and influence in Gaza. He explained that the United States voted "no" for these reasons.

Wood also emphasized that the United States consistently supports a two-state solution. - This vote does not reflect opposition to Palestinian statehood, but instead is an acknowledgement that it will only come from direct negotiations between the parties, he added.

The Palestinian Authority's representation strongly reacted to the US veto. The decision of the United States to block the resolution was described as "unfair, unethical, and unjustified."

The US move was, however, praised by Israel. - The shameful proposal was rejected - Terrorism will not be rewarded. - said Foreign Minister Israel Katz.