The administration had long said it opposed such a unilateral move by the Palestinians. The US has been working to prevent a Palestinian resolution from coming before the council.

Until now, Washington had not explicitly said it would use its veto to prevent passage. On Thursday, State Department spokesman Victoria Nuland said that if the issue comes to a vote in the Security Council, the US will veto it.

Israel opposes the statehood push as well.

Nuland says the US view is that the Palestinian effort is misguided and that statehood should come only as a result of negotiations with Israel.