UNITED NATIONS, Sept 13 — The United Nations General Assembly yesterday overwhelmingly voted to endorse a declaration outlining “tangible, timebound, and irreversible steps” towards a two-state solution between Palestine and Israel ahead of a meeting of world leaders.
The seven-page declaration is the result of an international conference at the UN in July — hosted by Saudi Arabia and France — on the decades-long conflict. The United States and Israel boycotted the event.
A resolution endorsing the declaration received 142 votes in favor and 10 against, while 12 countries abstained.
The vote comes ahead of a meeting of world leaders on September 22 — on the sidelines of the high-level UN General Assembly — where Britain, France, Canada, Australia and Belgium are expected to formally recognise Palestine’s statehood.
The declaration endorsed by the 193-member General Assembly condemns the attacks against Israel by Hamas on October 7, 2023. It also condemns attacks by Israel against civilians and civilian infrastructure in Gaza, siege and starvation, “which have resulted in a devastating humanitarian catastrophe and protection crisis”.
The resolution was supported by all Gulf Arab states. Israel and the US voted against it, along with Argentina, Hungary, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay and Tonga.
The declaration endorsed by the resolution says the war in Gaza “must end now” and supports the deployment of a temporary international stabilisation mission mandated by the UN Security Council.
The US described the vote as “yet another misguided and ill-timed publicity stunt” that undermined serious diplomatic efforts to end the conflict.
“Make no mistake, this resolution is a gift to Hamas,” US diplomat Morgan Ortagus told the General Assembly. “Far from promoting peace, the conference has already prolonged the war, emboldened Hamas and harmed the prospects of peace in both short and long term.”
