U.S. Vows to Vote against Palestinian U.N. Request

The United States reaffirmed on Wednesday that it intends to vote against a Palestinian request for enhanced status at the United Nations.

"We intend to vote no.... We think this is a mistake," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said. "We oppose this move altogether."

On Thursday, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas will submit the request seeking to upgrade his territory's rank from an observer entity to that of a non-member observer state before the U.N. General Assembly.

The request is expected to win support from a huge majority of the Assembly's 193 members, including votes from some close U.S. allies such as France, but Washington remains adamantly opposed.

The United States, a staunch ally of Israel, wants Palestinian statehood to emerge from direct peace talks with Israel -- and fears the unilateral U.N. bid might hamper the quest for a final resolution to the dispute.

Another U.S. ally, Britain, has said it will abstain in the vote unless the Palestinians commit to fresh talks with Israel, but Nuland said that no change in language would alter Washington's position on the immediate vote.