The United Nations Security Council has rejected a resolution demanding an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories within three years, following U.S. and Israeli pressure against it. The draft resolution also called for a peaceful solution between Israel and a sovereign Palestinian state within 12 months. Of the 15 members of the U.N. Security Council, only the United States and Australia voted against the measure. But it needed nine votes to pass and only received eight after Nigeria decided at the last minute to abstain from voting. The Guardian reports both U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Nigeria’s president, Goodluck Jonathan, to ask him to oppose the measure. The United States was expected to veto the measure if it passed. The vote comes amidst widening support for Palestinian statehood, with an increasing number of European countries taking steps to recognize Palestine. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power explained why the U.S. objected.

Samantha Power: “Today’s staged confrontation in the U.N. Security Council will not bring the parties closer to achieving a two-state solution. We voted against this resolution not because we are indifferent to the daily hardships or the security threats endured by Palestinians and Israelis, but because we know that those hardships will not cease and those threats will not subside until the parties reach a comprehensive settlement achieved through negotiations.”