Three of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council joined the 138-9 passage of a General Assembly resolution Thursday calling Palestine a non-member state. France, Russia and China voted yes, while the United States voted no and Britain abstained. "The vote does not mean an endorsement for the establishment of a state of Palestine," US Ambassador Susan Rice said. The eight other no votes came from Canada, the Czech Republic, Israel, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau and Panama. Among the 41 countries abstaining from the vote were Germany, Albania, Australia, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Montenegro, South Korea, Romania and Slovenia. The countries voting yes included Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Italy and Japan.
