UNITED NATIONS, Nov. 12 (UPI) -- Palestinian leaders were mulling options Saturday after the U.N. Security Council said there wasn't unanimity over a bid for statehood.
The 15-country council issued its statement Friday after seven weeks of meetings during which three countries with veto powers -- Britain, France and the United States -- expressed varying degrees of dissent.
The U.S. delegation said it would veto the application, while Britain and France said they would abstain from voting.
The assent of statehood requires at least nine votes from Security Council members.
The U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization earlier this year granted full membership to the Palestinian Authority, but the agency's move apparently had little influence on the Security Council.
Since Israel's statehood in 1948, the United States and various Western allies have adopted the country as an ally and mostly defended Israeli land claims.
The main option for the Palestinian statehood bid is to bypass the Security Council and appeal to the 193-member General Assembly for an upgrade to observer status, as the Vatican holds. That would likely sail through a vote, CNN said, but Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has said that was too weak of a measure to pursue.
The Palestinians are expected to announce their plans after a Wednesday meeting of the multinational Arab League.
