UN General Assembly supports Palestinian bid for full membership

On Friday, the United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly supported Palestine’s bid for full membership in the organization.

The Assembly also recommended that the UN Security Council positively review and officially recognize the request to establish an independent Palestinian state.

The vote in the 193-member General Assembly is described as a global referendum on supporting Palestine’s efforts to become a full member of the United Nations, effectively recognizing an independent Palestinian state.

With 143 votes in favor and 9 against, including the United States and Israel, the General Assembly adopted this resolution. 25 countries abstained.

Last month, the United States vetoed a vote in the UN Security Council regarding Palestinian membership.

The General Assembly resolution passed on Friday grants Palestinians greater rights and privileges from September 2024, including a seat among the UN members in the Assembly hall, but does not grant them voting rights.

Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian Ambassador to the UN, said before the vote in the Assembly, “We want peace, we want freedom. Voting yes is a vote for the existence of Palestine, against no country, and it is an investment for peace.”

According to the UN’s founding charter, membership is open to “peace-loving countries” that accept and are able and willing to carry out their commitments.

Gilad Erdan, Israel’s Ambassador to the UN, used a small shredder to destroy a copy of the organization’s charter during his speech, ripping it up with the words “Shame on you.”

A request for full UN membership must first be approved by the 15 members of the Security Council and then by the General Assembly. If the action is put to a vote again by the council, it will likely face another US veto. Robert Wood, the Deputy US Ambassador to the UN, said after the vote in the General Assembly that unilateral actions at the UN will not advance a two-state solution.

He stated, “Our vote does not reflect opposition to establishing a Palestinian state; we have been clear that we support it and seek meaningful progress. Instead, this confirms that statehood can only result from a process that involves direct negotiations between the parties.”

Palestinians seek to establish a country in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip, territories occupied by Israel in the 1967 war.

In response to the General Assembly’s resolution, Israel’s Ambassador to the UN predicted that the US might reduce financial support to the UN and its bodies.

The post UN General Assembly supports Palestinian bid for full membership appeared first on Khaama Press.