Palestinian Authority

Türkiye on Friday expressed its approval of the U.N. resolution granting the Palestinians additional rights in the global body and backed their drive for full membership, which is blocked by the United States.

"We welcome the U.N. General Assembly resolution to expand Palestine's rights and privileges at the U.N.," the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Monday in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, according to the Turkish Foreign Ministry.

Fidan and Blinken met on the margins of the meeting of the Contact Group on Gaza, the ministry posted on social media platform X.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, speaking from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, has urgently called upon the United States to prevent Israel from launching an assault on the border town of Rafah in the Gaza Strip.

Israel is set to summon ambassadors of countries that voted for full Palestinian U.N. membership "for a protest talk" on Sunday, a foreign ministry spokesman has said.

It came after the Palestinian Authority said it would "reconsider" its relationship with the United States after Washington vetoed the Palestinian membership bid earlier this week.

The Gaza war is speeding up Israel's "annexation" of the Palestinian economy, say analysts, who argue it has been hobbled for decades by agreements that followed the Oslo peace accords.

While the Israel-Hamas war raging since Oct. 7 has devastated swathes of Gaza, it has also hit the public finances and wider economy of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

In a move sparking controversy and diplomatic ripples, the United States wielded its veto power at the United Nations to thwart a resolution advocating for the recognition of a Palestinian state. The resolution, which recommended granting Palestine full membership in the organization, faced staunch opposition from the US, resulting in its ultimate rejection.

More than six months of Israel's military offensive in Gaza has turned the Palestinian territory into a "humanitarian hellscape", U.N. chief Antonio Guterres said Thursday, also warning that one wrong move could see the Middle East devolve into a wider war as United States sank a long-shot Palestinian bid for full United Nations membership, vetoing a Security Council vote.

British Foreign Secretary David Cameron urged the G7 Wednesday to adopt new "coordinated sanctions" against Iran after its weekend attack on Israel, ahead of a meeting with counterparts from the Western-led grouping in Italy.

The Palestinian delegation to the United Nations is pushing for a vote to be recognized as a full member state next month, Ambassador Riyad Mansour has said, a move opposed by the United States.

"We are seeking admission. That is our natural and legal right," Mansour said, adding that he was pushing for an April 18 vote at the Security Council.

The southern Gaza Strip came under intense Israeli bombardment overnight, despite international pressure for an immediate ceasefire in the Palestinian territory where famine is looming.