UN assembly approves resolution granting Palestine new rights and reviving its UN membership bid

The U.N. General Assembly has voted by a wide margin to grant new “rights and privileges” to Palestine and has called on the Security Council to reconsider Palestine's request to become the 194th member of the United Nations. The world body approved the resolution on Friday by a vote of 143-9 with 25 abstentions. The United States voted against it, along with Israel and a handful of other countries. The vote reflected the wide global support for full membership of Palestine in the United Nations, with many countries expressing outrage at the escalating death toll in Gaza.