UN General Assembly Backs Declaration on Palestinian Statehood
On Friday, the Assembly endorsed the so-called New York Declaration in a 142–10 vote, with 12 abstentions. The document was drafted in July by France and Saudi Arabia and emphasizes “tangible, timebound, and irreversible steps” to achieve a two-state solution.
According to the UN record, Israel, the United States, and eight other countries opposed the resolution. Those voting against included Argentina, Hungary, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, and Tonga.
The declaration followed an international conference on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict held at the UN, which the US and Israel boycotted. It excludes Hamas and urges “collective action to end the Israeli war in Gaza and effective implementation of the two-state solution.”
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The text was endorsed by the Arab League and co-signed in July by 17 UN member states, among them several Arab nations.
The move comes as a number of Israel’s Western allies, including Belgium, France, the UK, Canada, and Australia, signal their intention to recognize Palestinian statehood during the current UN General Assembly session. Recognition would align them with the 147 countries that already acknowledge Palestine as a state.
The Palestinian leadership declared statehood in exile in 1988, and roughly three-quarters of UN members have since recognized it.
Israeli officials have strongly rejected the declaration. Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that the regime would never accept a Palestinian state.
Foreign minister Gideon Saar warned that European recognition could lead Israel to take “unilateral decisions.” Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has announced plans to annex more than 80 percent of the West Bank, describing the move as a way to prevent the creation of a Palestinian state.
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In August, Smotrich reiterated his intention to advance settlement projects across the West Bank, describing them as steps that “bury the concept of a Palestinian state.”
The International Court of Justice ruled in July 2024 that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory is illegal and called for the evacuation of settlements in the West Bank and East al-Quds.
At present, 147 of the 193 UN member states recognize the State of Palestine.
Source: Agencies
