Australia voted “yes” and the United Nations General Assembly passed a Palestinian bid to become a full member of the organisation by recognising it as qualified to join.

The vote, held at the UN’s New York headquarters on Friday, local time, passed with 143 nations in favour and nine against — including the United States and Israel — while 25 countries abstained.

The resolution was seen as a de facto step towards future Palestinian statehood.

The Palestinian push for full UN membership comes seven months into a war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

While there is a Palestinian ambassador to the UN, they are considered an “observer”.

Australia, which had previously abstained from voting on a call for an immediate humanitarian truce in the war, voted “yes” on Friday.

It does not give the Palestinians full UN membership, but simply recognises them as qualified to join, and gives them more “rights and privileges”.

Despite the significant number of “yes” votes, the Palestinian bid for full UN membership will likely hit a brick wall.

In order to become a full member, Palestinian statehood must also be backed by the UN’s 15-member Security Council.

When the Security Council last voted on the issue in April, the US used its power to unilaterally veto it.

The resolution passed on Friday recommended the UN Security Council “reconsider the matter favourably”.

with Reuters