The United Nations General Assembly on Friday overwhelmingly supported the Palestinian candidacy for full UN membership, recognizing it as qualified and recommending that the UN Security Council “favorably review the question “.
The vote by the 193-member General Assembly was a global poll of support for the Palestinian bid for full U.N. membership – a move that would effectively recognize a Palestinian state – after states -United States vetoed it at the UN Security Council last month.
The assembly adopted a resolution by 143 votes in favor and nine against – including those of the United States and Israel – while 25 countries abstained. This resolution does not grant the Palestinians full membership in the UN, but simply recognizes that they meet the requirements for membership.
The resolution “determines that the State of Palestine… should therefore be admitted as a member” and “recommends that the Security Council reconsider the matter favorably.”
The Palestinian request for full membership in the UN comes seven months after the start of a war between Israel and Palestinian Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip, and as Israel expands its settlements in the occupied West Bank, which the United Nations considers illegal.
“We want peace, we want freedom,” Palestinian UN Ambassador Riyad Mansour said before the vote. “A positive vote is a vote in favor of Palestinian existence, it is not a vote against a state. …It’s an investment in peace.”
“Voting yes is the right thing to do,” he added in remarks that drew applause.
Under the United Nations Charter, membership is open to “peaceful states” that accept the obligations contained in this document and are able and willing to comply with them.
“As long as many of you hate Jews, you don’t really care that the Palestinians don’t like peace,” Ambassador Gilad Erdan, who spoke after M . Mansour. He accused the assembly of tearing up the UN Charter – even though he used a small shredder to destroy a copy of the Charter while at the lectern.
“Shame on you,” Mr. Erdan said.
An application to become a full member of the UN must first be approved by the 15 members of the Security Council, then by the General Assembly. If the measure is voted on again by the Council, it is likely that it will meet the same fate: an American veto.
By an overwhelming majority, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution to grant new “rights and privileges” to a Palestinian state and urge the Security Council to reconsider its admission as the 194th member of the UN .
143 countries including Haiti – albeit led by a US-installed regime – supported the resolution, nine voted against and 25 abstained.
9 countries voted against the resolution:
Argentina, Czech Republic, Hungary, Israel, Micronesia, United States, Papa New Guinea, Nauru and Palau.
25 countries abstained:
Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Fiji, Finland, Georgia, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malawi, Marshall Islands, Monaco, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Paraguay, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Sweden, Switzerland , Ukraine, United Kingdom and Vanuatu.
The vote comes after impassioned speeches.
Palestinian Ambassador Riyad Mansour urged member states to vote in favor of the project. “A positive vote is a vote in favor of Palestinian existence, it is not a vote against a state,” he said.
Israel’s UN delegate Gilad Erdan tore up a copy of the UN charter on stage, saying the inclusion of a Palestinian state would be a violation of the organization’s charter.
