United Nations General Assembly backing Palestine's full membership in the United Nations (UN) is a historic milestone in the efforts to bring justice to the country, President Dr. Mohammed Muizzu said.

The U.N. General Assembly voted by a wide margin on Friday to grant new "rights and privileges" to Palestine and called on the Security Council to reconsider Palestine's request to become the 194th member of the United Nations.

143 countries voted in favor of granting full membership to Palestine. Nine countries voted against the resolution, while 25 abstained.

In a post on X, President Muizzu applauded the countries that voted to grant UN membership to Palestine.

"I applaud the international community for taking the crucial step to adopt the resolution on the Admission of New Members to the United Nations in the Session."

The President further stated that the Maldives remains committed to the aspirations of a sovereign and independent State of Palestine, in line with the pre-1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Palestine used to have UN observer status. However, the UAE's resolution has made Palestine a member of the United Nations.

The vote reflected the wide global support for full membership of Palestine in the United Nations, with many countries expressing outrage at the escalating death toll in Gaza and fears of a major Israeli offensive in Rafah, a southern city where about 1.3 million Palestinians have sought refuge.

But while it gives Palestine some new rights and privileges, it reaffirms that it remains a non-member observer state without the right to vote in the General Assembly or at any of its conferences. And the United States has made clear that it will block Palestinian membership and statehood until direct negotiations with Israel resolve key issues, including security, boundaries and the future of Jerusalem.

The U.S. also vetoed a widely backed council resolution on April 18 that would have paved the way for full United Nations membership for Palestine.