US vows to block any vote for Palestine UN membership

The United States pledged to vote against any United Nations resolution seeking to grant Palestine full membership in the international body.  

The hardline promise came after a UN General Assembly resolution that would provide Palestine with new “rights and privileges” and called on the Security Council to reconsider making it a full-fledged member passed with overwhelming majority support Friday. 

“The United States will continue to oppose measures that undermine the prospect of a two-state solution” between Israel and Palestine, US Deputy Ambassador to the UN Robert Wood said after the vote. 

Friday’s vote, which was brought to the floor by the United Arab Emirates, passed with 143 votes in favor, nine against and 25 abstentions.

In addition to the US, the “no” votes included Hungary, Argentina and Israel, while Canada, Italy, Ukraine and the United Kingdom were among the abstentions. 

While the resolution reaffirms Palestine is still a non-member observer state without full membership, it also stated that the Middle Eastern enclave is “qualified” for full UN membership and asked the organization’s powerful 15-member Security Council to “reconsider the matter favorably” 

Wood slammed Friday’s vote as “unproductive” and promised the United States would continue to veto any Security Council request to grant Palestine membership — just as it did in an April vote.  

“This resolution does not resolve the concerns about the Palestinian membership application raised in April in the Security Council through the Admissions Committee process,” he said.

“And should the Security Council take up the Palestinians’ membership application as a result of this resolution, there will be a similar outcome.” 

With Post wires.