UN overwhelmingly endorses declaration on Palestinian state

The 142-10 vote on Friday was to endorse the so-called New York declaration, a statement calling for a two-state solution, crafted by France and Saudi Arabia in July.

Joining Israel and the United States in opposing the resolution were Argentina, Hungary, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay and Tonga. Twelve countries abstained.

Zionist regime, US isolated

The seven-page declaration is the result of an international conference at the UN on the decades-long Israeli occupation. The United States and Israel boycotted the event.

The declaration, which excludes Hamas, also calls for “collective action to end the Israeli war in Gaza and effective implementation of the two-state solution.”

The declaration, which was endorsed by the Arab League and co-signed in July by 17 UN member states, including several Arab countries

Long-time Western allies of Israel, including Belgium, France, the UK, Canada, and Australia, had earlier announced plans to recognize Palestinian statehood during the upcoming UN General Assembly sessions from September 8–23. They would join 147 nations that already formally recognize Palestine.

Around three-quarters of the 193 UN member states recognize the Palestinian state proclaimed in 1988 by the exiled Palestinian leadership.

Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli prime minister, insisted on Thursday that Israel would never accept a Palestinian state.

Gideon Saar, the Zionist regime’s foreign minister, recently threatened that the Europeans' recognition of Palestinian statehood would push Tel Aviv into “unilateral decisions”.

Zionist regime’s far-right finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, has announced plans to annex more than 80 percent of the occupied West Bank in a bid to block the establishment of a Palestinian state.

On August 14, Smotrich announced his intention to move forward with the highly contentious settlement project across the occupied West Bank that “buries the concept of a Palestinian state”.

In July 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) declared Zionist regime’s occupation of the Palestinian territory illegal and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East al-Quds. All mere words.

The State of Palestine is recognized as a sovereign state by 147 of the 193 member states of the United Nations.

The recognition of a Palestinian state comes as international pressure was mounting on the regime over its genocidal war in the besieged Gaza Strip.

Since the Zionist regime’s genocide began in October 2023, the martyr toll has surpassed 64,700, with more than 164,000 others wounded.