The US prevented the Security Council from recognizing the Palestinians as a full UN member state. Twelve Security Council members voted in favor of granting the Palestinians full UN member status, while the UK and Switzerland abstained.

The US had first sought to convince the Palestinian Authority to shelve the measure before turning to other members to either oppose or abstain after Ramallah rebuffed Washington’s request, a US official told The Times of Israel.

France, Japan, South Korea and Slovenia all voted in favor of the resolution submitted by Algeria, even though none of them had individually recognized a Palestinian state.

Sierra Leone, Russia, Mozambique, Malta, Guyana, Ecuador, China and Algeria also voted in favor of the resolution but have each already recognized a Palestinian state.

At least nine countries of the 15-member body needed to support the measure in order to force a US veto.

The US has long opposed Palestinian efforts to unilaterally secure statehood status at the UN, arguing that the goal should be achieved through direct negotiations with Israel.