History set to be repeated as US prepares to wield veto, insisting Palestine must negotiate statehood with Israel first.

Approval requires at least nine votes in favour, with no vetoes. The UNSC’s five permanent members – the US, Russia, China, France and Britain – hold vetoes.

But the US has indicated that its opposition to Palestinian member status in the UN, in the absence of a broader deal with Israel, stays intact.

“Our position has not changed,” Robert Wood, US deputy ambassador to the UN, said last week.