Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Reuters file photo
"The Palestinian leadership will reconsider bilateral relations with the United States, in a way that ensures the protection of the interests of our people, our cause and our rights," Abbas told the official Palestinian news agency WAFA.
The office of the Palestinian Authority president condemned the US veto, describing it as "blatant aggression" that pushes the region further towards the edge of the abyss.
Palestinian Ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour expressed determination despite the setback, stating: “The fact that this resolution did not pass will not break our will, and it will not defeat our determination.”
“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,” Mansour added.
Hamas accused the US of obstructing international will and siding with the occupation.
The resistance group called on the international community “to exert pressure to go beyond the American will and support the struggle of our Palestinian people and their legitimate right to self-determination.”
Egypt criticized the US veto, saying that "obstructing Palestine’s recognition contradicts the legal and historical responsibility placed on the international community for putting an end to the occupation and reaching a just solution to the Palestinian cause."
The US veto had been expected ahead of the vote, taking place more than six months into Israel's war on the besieged Palestinian territory.
Twelve countries voted in favour of the draft resolution recommending full Palestinian membership, while Britain and Switzerland abstained.
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