NEW YORK, April 19. /TASS/. Russian First Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Dmitry Polyansky said the United States delegation uses blackmail and extortion to attain its goals at the UN.

"We know how the US ‘raises concerns’ with other countries with the help of blackmail and extortion of a necessary position. It’s good that this shameful neocolonial tactics are fully exposed now in the context of Gaza War," Polyansky wrote on the X social network.

Earlier in the day, the United States exercised its veto right and blocked Palestine’s bid to become a full-fledged member of the United Nations. 12 countries, including Russia and China, voted in favor; two - the United Kingdom and Switzerland - abstained. The United States was the only country that voted against and exercised its veto right to block the document.

Tensions in the Middle East flared up again on October 7, 2023, after militants from the radical Palestinian group Hamas launched a surprise incursion into Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip, killing residents of border communities and taking hundreds hostage. Hamas described its attack as a response to the aggressive actions of Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem’s Old City. Israel announced a total blockade of Gaza and started carrying out retaliatory strikes on targets in the Strip, as well as on certain areas in Lebanon and Syria. On December 1, the Israeli army accused Hamas of violating a ceasefire that had taken effect on November 24 and resumed combat operations in the Gaza Strip. Palestinians held the US responsible for the renewed Israeli aggression.