Palestinian resolution to end Israeli occupation rejected

The Security Council rejected a Palestinian resolution demanding an end to Israeli occupation within three years late Tuesday, a blow to an Arab campaign to get the UN’s most powerful body to take action to achieve an independent state of Palestine. The United States, Israel’s closest ally, had made clear its opposition to the draft resolution, insisting on a negotiated peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians, not an imposed timetable. It would have used its veto if necessary but it didn’t have to because the resolution failed to get the minimum nine ‘yes’ votes required for adoption by the 15-member council. The resolution received 8 ‘yes’ votes, two ‘no’ votes — one from the United States and the other from Australia — and five abstentions. ‘We voted against this resolution not because we are comfortable with the status quo. We voted against it because ... peace must come from hard compromises that occur at the negotiating table,’ US Ambassador Samantha Power said, according to a news agency.