The Palestinian bid for statehood has moved a step closer to a vote before the United Nations General Assembly. On Wednesday, the U.N. group UNESCO voted to grant Palestine membership, a move that will put the bid before the full assembly in the coming weeks. The UNESCO vote came over the fierce objection of the Obama administration, which has tried to quash the Palestinian bid despite publicly claiming to support a Palestinian state. On a visit to the Dominican Republic, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton blasted the vote and said the United States may even cut off funding to UNESCO in retaliation.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton: “I find it quite confusing and somewhat inexplicable that you would have organs of the U.N. making decisions about statehood or quasi-statehood status while the issue has been presented to the United Nation. With respect to the question about the United States’s response, we are certainly aware of strong legislative prohibition that prevents the United States from funding organizations that jump the gun, so to speak, in recognizing entities before they are fully ready for such recognition.”