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               US Rejects Palestinian Statehood Resolution at UN

   by VOA News

   The United States, as expected, on Tuesday voted against a U.N.
   Security Council draft resolution on Palestinian statehood that
   demanded Israeli withdrawal from the occupied territories.

   The draft fell short of the nine votes needed for passage, but a "no"
   vote by the United States, which has veto power, meant it would have
   failed anyway.

   U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power called the Palestinian draft one-sided
   and not a constructive step toward a two-state solution. She said
   achieving peace would require hard choices and compromises.

   Before the vote, the Palestinian observer at the U.N., Riyad Mansour,
   said the draft was a just solution to the Middle East conflict and was
   supported by the international community.

   The draft would have given Israel a 2017 deadline to pull out of the
   West Bank and Gaza, back to borders that existed before the 1967 war.
   East Jerusalem would have been the new Palestinian capital.

   The draft also would have given Israel and the Palestinians one year to
   reach a peace agreement.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/us-vetoes-palestinian-statehood-resol
   ution-un/2579666.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/us-vetoes-palestinian-statehood-resolution-un/2579666.html