A United Nations Security Council committee considering an application by the Palestinian Authority to become a full UN member "was unable to make a unanimous recommendation" on whether it met the criteria, according to the committee report seen by Reuters on Tuesday.
The Palestinian Authority is still expected to push the 15-member Security Council to vote - as early as this week - on a draft resolution recommending it become a full member of the world body, diplomats said.
In November of 2012, the United Nations passed a resolution recognizing “Palestine” as a non-member observer state.
The PA recently revived its UN membership application, prompting the Security Council to launch a formal review process. This included the ad hoc committee that failed to reach consensus.
Any request by the PA to become a UN member state must first pass through the Security Council, where the US has veto power, and then be endorsed by the General Assembly.
Asked recently if the US would use its Security Council veto to block the PA’s bid, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller replied, "I'm not going to speculate about what may happen down the road."
He added, however, that the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with security guarantees for Israel "is something that should be done through direct negotiations between the parties - it's something we are pursuing at this time - and not at the United Nations."
The US in 2022 urged the PA not to pursue a vote at the UN Security Council on gaining full UN membership, stressing it will likely veto any such move.