The US blocked a resolution in the UN Security Council to admit Palestine as a full member of the world organization, BTA reported.
12 members of the Security Council, including Russia and China, voted in favor of admitting Palestine to the UN as a full member. Switzerland and Great Britain abstained, and the United States opposed the draft resolution.
Palestine currently has permanent observer status at the UN.
Israel's foreign minister congratulated the United States on Thursday's UN Security Council veto to deny the Palestinian Authority full membership in the world body.
„The disgraceful proposal was rejected. Terrorism will not be rewarded," Foreign Minister Israel Katz said, quoted by Reuters.
The Palestinian Authority, led by Mahmoud Abbas, sharply criticized the US veto on Palestinian membership in the UN and called it a "clear aggression" that is pushing the Middle East "to the brink of the abyss", France Press reported.
„This aggressive US policy towards Palestine, its people and their legitimate rights constitutes a flagrant violation of international law and the promotion of an ongoing genocidal war against our people...which further pushes the region to the brink,” it said. statement from Abbas's office.