The United States was alone Thursday in voting against a United Nations Security Council resolution to admit the Palestinian territories as a full U.N. member state. Its veto killed the measure, proposed by Algeria on behalf of Arab nations. Twelve of the 15 council members voted in favor while two, Britain and Switzerland, abstained.
U.S. officials had said that voting for statehood now would undermine prospects for a lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinians, which it said must be negotiated between the two parties.
“President Biden has been clear that a sustainable peace in the region can only be achieved through a two-state solution” with mutual agreement, U.S. representative Robert Wood told the council after the vote. “There is no other path that guarantees Israel’s security and future as a democratic Jewish state. There is no other path that guarantees Palestinians can live in peace and with dignity in a state of their own.”
“We also have long been clear that a premature action here in New York, even with the best intentions, will not achieve statehood for the Palestinian people,” Wood said.