The United States is poised to exercise its veto power once more on the issue of Palestine's status upgrade within the United Nations.

New Delhi (ABC Live): The UN General Assembly reconvened in New York on Friday for an emergency special session regarding the Gaza crisis and overwhelmingly adopted a resolution to upgrade Palestine’s status within the world body to that of an Observer State, stopping short of granting full membership. The resolution also called upon the Security Council to give favorable consideration to Palestine’s request.

Following the session, Vice President Jörundur Valtýsson announced that the assembly would reconvene on Monday, May 13, at 10 AM New York time.

The United States is poised to exercise its veto power once more on the issue of Palestine's status upgrade within the United Nations. This decision reflects the U.S. stance that meaningful progress towards Palestinian statehood must stem from direct negotiations between the concerned parties. Despite affirming support for Palestinian statehood, U.S. officials underscore the critical necessity of a negotiated process to secure Israel's future as a democratic Jewish state and to ensure Palestinians can establish their state in peace and dignity. The upcoming veto is expected to echo previous instances, highlighting the U.S. commitment to the importance of direct negotiations in shaping the future of the region.

Ambassador Robert Wood clarified the United States' negative vote, emphasizing that it did not signal opposition to Palestinian statehood. "We have consistently expressed our support for and commitment to promoting Palestinian statehood in a meaningful way. However, we believe that statehood should result from a process involving direct negotiations between the parties," he explained.

Wood stressed that direct negotiations are vital for ensuring Israel's security and future as a democratic Jewish State, as well as for guaranteeing Palestinians the opportunity to live in peace and dignity within their own state.

Furthermore, he reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to increasing engagement with Palestinians and the broader Middle East region to facilitate a political settlement leading to Palestinian statehood and eventual UN membership.

Wood noted that the General Assembly's resolution does not address the concerns raised in April regarding the Palestinian membership application in the Security Council. He suggested that if the Security Council revisits the Palestinian membership application in response to this resolution, the outcome would likely mirror previous results.