U.N. votes to grant Palestine nonmember ‘rights’; U.S. opposes

UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. General Assembly voted Friday to grant new “rights and privileges” to Palestine and called on the Security Council to reconsider Palestine’s request to become the 194th member of the United Nations.

The world body approved the Arab and Palestinian-sponsored resolution by a vote of 143-9 with 25 abstentions. The United States voted against it, along with Israel, Argentina, Czechia, Hungary, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau and Papua New Guinea.

While Friday’s resolution gives Palestine some new rights and privileges, it reaffirms that it remains a nonmember observer state without full U.N. membership and the right to vote in the General Assembly or at any of its conferences.

U.S. deputy ambassador Robert Wood said Friday that for the U.S. to support Palestinian statehood, direct negotiations must guarantee Israel’s security and future as a democratic Jewish state and that Palestinians can live in peace in a state of their own.

The U.S. also vetoed a council resolution on April 18 that would have paved the way for full United Nations membership for Palestine.

The United States considers Friday’s resolution an attempt to get around the U.N. Charter’s provisions, Wood reiterated Thursday.