The 15-member U.N. Security Council voted down a resolution that would have granted the Palestinian-dominated territories statehood status.
China, France and Russia supported the statehood move, but their three votes for the affirmative were far short of the nine needed to adopt. Australia and the United States said no; five other countries, including Britain, abstained from voting, Agence France-Presse reported.
The resolution would have opened the doors to declare a Palestinian state — with East Jerusalem as the capital. The terms of the measure also called for Israel to achieve a peace deal with the Palestinians within a year and to fully withdraw from disputed territories by 2017, AFP said.
“This resolution sets the stage for more division, not for compromise,” U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power said. “This text addresses the concerns of just one side.”
Other countries that supported the resolution included Argentina, Chad, Chile, Jordan, Luxembourg and France. France backed the measure because of an “urgent need to act,” said Ambassador Francois Delattre, AFP reported.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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