The US has vetoed an Arab resolution at the UN Security Council condemning Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territories as an obstacle to peace.
All 14 other members of the Security Council backed the resolution, which had been endorsed by the Palestine Liberation Organisation.
It was the first veto exercised by the Obama administration which had promised better relations with the Muslim world.
A Palestinian official said the talks process would now be "re-assessed".
Washington was under pressure from Israel and Congress, which has a strong pro-Israel lobby, to use its veto.
The Obama administration's decision risks angering Arab peoples at a time of mass street protests in the Middle East, the BBC's Barbara Plett reports from the UN
BBC News 18Feb 2011 | Read full story
