On Friday, the UN General Assembly (UNGA) passed a resolution endorsing the Palestinian request to become a full UN member by acknowledging its eligibility to join and urging the Security Council to “reconsider the matter positively.” The resolution received 143 affirmative votes, with nine countries voting against it, including the United States and Israel, and 25 countries abstaining. China supported the resolution.
The resolution states, “The State of Palestine… should therefore be admitted to membership” and “recommends that the Security Council reconsider the matter favorably.”
The resolution “determines” that a State of Palestine is qualified for membership – dropping the original language that in the UN General Assembly’s judgment it is “a peace-loving state.” It therefore recommends that the Security Council reconsider its request “favorably.”
Saudi Arabia’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Abdulaziz Alwasil, said that “the resolution presented today is fully in line with those resolutions. It seeks to implement the will of the international community and contribute to building true peace in the Middle East based on the two-state solution.”
“It is high time for the international community to re-establish the truth because the world can no longer ignore the suffering of the Palestinian people that has lasted for decades,” he said after the vote.
Alwasil further noted that Israel, the occupying power, has perpetrated “all sorts of crimes” against the Palestinian people, scorning international law.
“Israel is convinced that they are above these resolutions and that they enjoy a certain level of immunity…which explains their ongoing hostile and brutal policies,” he said.
UNGA President Dennis Francis opened the continuation of the 10th Emergency Special Session (ESS), which last convened on Dec. 12, 2023, against the backdrop of a worsening crisis in Gaza.
Francis stated that peace has remained elusive, and the situation has become untenable, deteriorating “at an alarming speed.”
This crisis is “bringing countless innocent victims into its deadly fold and pushing the region further to the brink of full-scale catastrophe,” he said.
He urged the international community not to look away from the dire situation that has unfolded since the new round of conflict began on Oct. 7, leading to significant Israeli devastation in Gaza.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) proposed a resolution on behalf of 22 Arab countries, with the support of approximately 65 states, affirming that “the State of Palestine meets the requirements for United Nations membership as outlined in Article 4 of the Charter and should be granted admission.” Prior to the vote, UAE’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Mohamed Abushahab, spoke to the General Assembly, underscoring the widespread acknowledgment of the validity of Palestine’s application.
He stated, “The vast majority of countries in the General Assembly are fully aware of the legitimacy of the Palestinian bid and the justness of their cause, which faces fierce attempts to suppress it and render it meaningless today.”
He further noted that granting Palestine full membership would send a “powerful message” in support of the two-state solution, adding, “Fulfilling the UN’s historic obligation towards the Palestinian people is long overdue, but it is never too late.”
Riyad Mansour, the permanent observer of Palestine to the United Nations, told the assembly that “no words can capture what such loss and trauma signifies for Palestinians, their families, communities and for our nation as a whole.”
He said Palestinians in Gaza “have been pushed to the very edge of the strip, to the very brink of life” with Israel besieging Rafah.
“We want peace, we want freedom,” Mansour said. “A yes vote is a vote for Palestinian existence, it is not against any state … It is an investment in peace.”
“Voting yes is the right thing to do,” he stated, receiving applause from the assembly.
Israel’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, accused the assembly, after the vote, of trampling on the UN Charter, and put the cover of the UN Charter into a mini portable electric document shredder.