Canada was one of 25 nations that chose to abstain from a vote in the UN General Assembly that overwhelmingly backed full membership of Palestine in the United Nations.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the Canadian government remains committed to a two-state solution in the Middle East.

“A peaceful, secure Israel, alongside a peaceful, secure Palestinian state,” Trudeau told reporters in British Columbia yesterday. “Unfortunately, over the past while we’ve seen us move further away from that two-state solution. The Israeli government under Prime Minister Netanyahu has unacceptably closed the door on any path towards a two-state solution and we disagree with that fundamentally.”

The UK and Switzerland also abstained from the vote, while the United States and Israel rejected the bid. The matter moves on to the UN Security Council.