NEW YORK: Israel has a new friend at the United Nations: The Marshall Islands. The government of the tiny string of Pacific atolls (pop. 58,000) on Tuesday joined Israel's lonely stalwarts -- the United States and Micronesia -- in voting no to upgrading Palestinian status from observer to non-voting member. "There's an overwhelming feeling in the U.N. that the Palestinians should have their own state," says TIME U.N. correspondent William Dowell. "In trying to block that, the U.S. finds itself completely isolated, in an almost untenable position."