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UN overwhelmingly endorses declaration on two-state solution for Israel, Palestinians
As we reported earlier today, the UN General Assembly was due to vote today on whether to back a resolution calling for a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine – excluding Hamas.
Now, we are getting reports that the resolution received 142 votes in favour and 10 against, while 12 countries abstained.
The UNGA voted to endorse the declaration outlining “tangible, timebound, and irreversible steps” towards a two-state solution.
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.
Palestine’s foreign ministry hails UNGA resolution
Palestine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has welcomed the UN General Assembly’s overwhelming passage of a declaration for a two-state solution.
“The State of Palestine expresses its gratitude to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and France for their efforts in chairing the international conference and the significant subsequent efforts to transform the New York Declaration into an actionable plan,” the ministry wrote on X, referring to the July meeting in New York that culminated in today’s vote.
The ministry also called for “activating all mechanisms to end the Israeli colonial occupation” and “achieve the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people”.
Israel ‘utterly rejects’ UNGA declaration on two-state solution with Palestinians
Israel “utterly rejects” the United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly voting to endorse a declaration outlining steps towards a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians, the Israeli foreign ministry says.
“Once again, it has been proven how much the General Assembly is a political circus detached from reality: in the dozens of clauses of the declaration endorsed by this resolution, there is not a single mention that Hamas is a terrorist organisation,” Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oren Marmorstein said in a post on X.
“The resolution does not advance a solution of peace — on the contrary, it encourages Hamas to continue the war.”
The UNGA declaration endorsed by the 193-member General Assembly condemned the attacks against Israel by Hamas on October 7, 2023.
“In the context of ending the war in Gaza, Hamas must end its rule in Gaza and hand over its weapons to the Palestinian Authority, with international engagement and support,” states the document.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said the resolution secured the international isolation of Hamas.
“For the first time today, the United Nations adopted a text condemning it for its crimes and calling for its surrender and disarmament,” he said in an X post.
