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Palestine’s long-sought full membership in the United Nations, which received widespread support from member states of the UN Security Council, failed once again due to the US’s veto power.
On the 18th (local time), the Security Council voted on a resolution recommending Palestine’s full UN membership to the UN General Assembly. Twelve out of the fifteen member states voted in favor. Still, the US’s veto power defeated the resolution. Two countries abstained.
Among the 193 full-member states of the UN, it is reported that about 140 countries, including US allies South Korea and Japan, supported this resolution.
Previously, Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian Ambassador to the UN, had sent a letter to UN Secretary-General António Guterres requesting a review of Palestine’s full UN membership in the Security Council.
A resolution must pass the Security Council with the support of at least nine out of 15 member states, and no veto power must be exercised by any of the five permanent members, namely the US, China, Russia, the UK, and France.
However, the US, a permanent member of the Security Council and a long-standing ally of Israel, exercised its veto power, causing the resolution to fail once again. The US also used its veto power in 2011 when Palestine applied for full UN membership. At that time, Palestine could not secure the support of at least nine member states, a requirement for passing the Security Council.
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