The US vetoed Palestine's chance to join the UN as a full member on Thursday, despite Malta and the majority of countries on the Security Council voting in favour of Palestine's admission.
Twelve countries voted in favor of the draft resolution recommending full Palestinian membership in a Malta-chaired Security Council meeting at the UN headquarters in New York City.
Britain and Switzerland abstained and the veto-wielding US shot down the resolution.
The move by Israel's key ally had been expected ahead of the vote, taking place more than six months into Israel's military offensive in the besieged Palestinian territory, in retaliation for the deadly October 7 attack by Hamas militants on southern Israel.
Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas's office called the US veto "a blatant aggression... which pushes the region ever further to the edge of the abyss."
Palestinian ambassador in tears
"The fact that this resolution did not pass will not break our will, and it will not defeat our determination," Palestinian Ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour said, in tears.
"We will not stop in our effort. The state of Palestine is inevitable. It is real.
"Please remember that once this session adjourns, in Palestine there are innocents paying the price with their lives... for the delay in justice, freedom and peace," he added, as others in the room also cried.
The draft resolution called for recommending to the General Assembly "that the State of Palestine be admitted to membership of the United Nations" in place of its current "non-member observer state" status, which it has held since 2012.
For the month of April, Malta is the president of the United Nations’ most powerful body – the UN Security Council – and the coinciding intensifying conflict in the Middle East has put the spotlight on Maltese diplomats who have become among the key players in the UN's efforts for peace.
Malta reacts
After the vote on Thursday, Malta was among the countries that made reactionary remarks.
Security Council chair and Malta's Permanent Representative to the UN, Vanessa Frazier, said UN membership was a necessary step for the Palestinians to achieve equal footing with the rest of the international community.
She said: "The unprecedented turmoil is pushing the Palestinian people to a precipice. We deeply regret that following today's veto, this legitimate aspiration has not been realised, but we must not lose sight of its legitimate validity. The two-state solution remains the only realistic solution for stability and peace in the Middle East."
A tense debate
In a tense debate held before the vote it was clear Israel and Palestine were nowhere near finding common ground, with the Israeli ambassador lambasting the UN for even considering allowing “terrorists” into the global organisation, and the Palestinian representative arguing full membership would not only be harmless but would also be a major step towards a peaceful solution.
Meanwhile, after the vote, the US said its position is unchanged: that the UN is not the venue for recognition of a Palestinian state, which must be the result of a peace deal with Israel.
"The United States continues to strongly support the two-state solution," US Deputy Ambassador Robert Wood said after the vote Thursday.
"This vote does not reflect opposition to Palestinian statehood, but instead is an acknowledgement that it will only come from direct negotiations between the parties."
Israel slammed the statehood initiative, with UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan saying so many "yes" votes "embolden" Palestinians to avoid the negotiating table and "make peace almost impossible."
"Speaking to this council is like speaking to a brick wall," he told his counterparts on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Palestinian militant group Hamas condemned on Friday the US veto.
Israel's government opposes a two-state solution, the outcome supported by most of the international community.
The majority of the UN's 193 member states - 137, according to a Palestinian count - have meanwhile unilaterally recognized a Palestinian state.