Palestinian resolution rejected at UNSC

UNITED NATIONS, Dec 31 (AFP): The UN Security Council failed Tuesday to adopt a resolution on Palestinian statehood that was strongly opposed by the United States.

China, France and Russia were among the eight countries that voted in favor of the text, but the resolution fell short of winning the nine "yes" votes necessary for adoption in the 15-member council.
Australia and the United States voted against, and five other countries abstained, including Britain.
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas was set to apply immediately to join the International Criminal Court, senior officials said Wednesday, after the UN Security Council rejected the resolution on ending the Israeli occupation.
Abbas would sign the Rome Statute later Wednesday, adhering to the founding treaty of the ICC, where the Palestinians could sue Israeli officials for war crimes in the occupied territories, several top officials told AFP.
Such a move is strongly opposed by Washington and Israel with a spokesman warning that joining the court would expose the Palestinians themselves to prosecution.
The Palestinian leader was also expected to sign 15 other international conventions on Wednesday, the officials said.
However, the resolution drafted by the Palestinians and backed by Arab countries would have paved the way to a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.
It set a 12-month deadline for Israel to reach a final peace deal with the Palestinians and called for a full Israeli withdrawal from the Palestinian territories by the end of 2017.