The U.S. on Thursday voted no and vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution to accept Palestine as a full member of the UN.

The vote comes six months into the war in Gaza and amid intense pressure on President Biden internationally and among his own party to do more to address the dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

The administration has faced criticism from some Democrats for its continued support of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government in their war against Hamas.

The U.S. used its veto power in the 15-member UN Security Council to oppose a draft resolution that would give Palestine full member status at the UN instead of its current observer status.

There were 12 votes in favor of the resolution: Russia, China, France, Japan, South Korea, Ecuador, Algeria, Malta, Slovenia, Sierra Leone, Mozambique and Guyana.

Two member states — the UK and Switzerland — abstained from voting.

The Palestinian ambassador to the UN two weeks ago renewed the request for full UN membership for Palestine.

A UN Security Council committee discussed the request and on Tuesday said the 15 council member are divided about whether they should recommend accepting Palestine as a full member, according to a copy of the report.

Over the last two weeks, the Biden administration has been pressing Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and his advisers to not move forward with their bid but Abbas rejected those requests, Axios earlier reported.

The U.S. representative at the meeting said the vote doesn't mean the U.S. is against a Palestinian state but that it should be a result of direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, and not a unilateral move through the UN.

State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said earlier Thursday the U.S. would be voting no to the proposed resolution and mentioned there wasn't unanimity on the council that the criteria for membership was met.

He added that according to U.S. law, if the resolution passed the Biden administration would have to defund the UN, which is not something is wants to do. (Source: Axios)

Story Date: April 19, 2024