The United States vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution to recognize Gaza as a state.

The 15-member council voted Thursday on a draft of a resolution that would recommend that the 193-member U.N. General Assembly recognize Gaza as a state and admit Gaza to the U.N. Twelve nations voted in favor of the resolution, two nations abstained, and one, the United States, voted against. 

“It remains the U.S. view that the most expeditious path toward statehood for the Palestinian people is through direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority with the support of the United States and other partners,” State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said during a news briefing. 

He added that a U.N. resolution would not achieve statehood for Gaza as it intends. 

The U.N. Security Council needs nine votes for a resolution to pass, unless one permanent member of the council, such as the U.S., votes against it and it is immediately abandoned.

Since 2012, Gaza has been categorized as a nonmember observer state. To become a full member of the U.N., after a successful Security Council vote, at least two-thirds of the General Assembly would need to vote in favor. China, the United States, France, the United Kingdom, and the Russian Federation are permanent members. 

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U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres of Portugal told the Security Council that escalations during the Israel-Hamas war have made this vote necessary.

“Recent escalations make it even more important to support good-faith efforts to find lasting peace between Israel and a fully independent, viable, and sovereign Palestinian state,” he said. “Failure to make progress toward a two-state solution will only increase volatility and risk for hundreds of millions of people across the region, who will continue to live under the constant threat of violence.”