In a United Nations Security Council meeting on Thursday, the United States exercised its veto power to reject a widely supported resolution that would have paved the way for full United Nations membership for the state of Palestine. The vote resulted in 12 in favor of the resolution, with the United States opposing and two abstentions.

The resolution aimed to recommend Palestine as the 194th member of the United Nations to the General Assembly, where vetoes do not apply. With approximately 140 countries already recognizing Palestine as an independent state, the admission would likely have been approved. However, the United States made it clear that premature actions in New York would not lead to statehood for the Palestinian people.

The veto comes at a time when the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been brought to the forefront due to the ongoing war in Gaza, which has entered its seventh month. U.S. Deputy Ambassador Robert Wood emphasized the importance of negotiations between Israel and Palestine as the basis for Palestinian membership, noting that anything that hinders these negotiations only complicates the path towards a two-state solution.

This is the second attempt by Palestinians to secure full membership in the United Nations. The initial bid in 2011 fell short of the required support from nine out of the Security Council's 15 members. However, the Palestinians successfully elevated their status in the General Assembly to that of a non-member observer state in November 2012, allowing them to join various international organizations, including the International Criminal Court.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, fueled by the support of 140 countries that recognize Palestine as an independent state, revived the bid for U.N. membership in early April. Ziad Abu Amr, the special representative of the Palestinian president, argued that granting full membership to Palestine would provide hope for the Palestinian people to live in an independent and decent state. He also stressed that membership in the U.N. would not be an alternative for serious negotiations towards implementing the two-state solution.

The rejection of the resolution by the United States faced criticism from Palestinian officials and supporters, who questioned how granting Palestinian membership would harm peace or international security when countries like the U.S. already recognize and approved Israel's U.N. membership.

Israel's right-wing government, led by hard-liners who oppose Palestinian statehood, viewed the resolution as disconnected from the current ground reality. Israeli U.N. Ambassador Gilad Erdan cautioned that it would lead to destruction and impede future dialogue. Erdan highlighted the requirements for U.N. membership, questioning whether the Palestinians met these criteria and condemned the loss of Israeli lives.

Israeli-Palestinian negotiations have been at an impasse for years, and current tensions have been further heightened by the recent conflict in Gaza. While the hope for Palestinian U.N. membership has faced a setback, the debate surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and its implications for regional and global peace continues.