US vetoes bid to make Palestine a full UN member

NEW YORK (Bloomberg): The United States has vetoed a bid to make Palestine a full-fledged member of the United Nations, rebuffing a Palestinian push to gain broader international recognition.

Twelve of 15 Security Council members voted in favour of the proposal on Thursday (April 18), while the United Kingdom and Switzerland abstained. Although the Palestinian authority received enough support to have its bid referred to the General Assembly for confirmation, the negative vote from the United States, which wields veto power, was enough to block it.