On 29 November 2012, the United Nations General Assembly voted to admit Palestine as a “non-member observer state” by a vote of 138 to 9, with 41 abstentions. The US, Israel, Czech Republic, and Palau were among the countries that voted against.
Palestinian President
Mahmoud Abbas at the UN General Assembly (Photo: AP)
Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas said that the vote was the “last chance to save the two-state solution” with Israel.
"Palestine comes today to the General Assembly because it believes in peace and because its people, as proven in past days, are in desperate need of it," Abbas said.
A Palestinian flag was quickly unfurled on the floor of the General Assembly, behind the Palestinian delegation.
Real independence, however, remains an elusive dream until the Palestinians negotiate a peace deal with the Israelis, who warned that the General Assembly action will only delay a lasting solution. Israel still controls the West Bank, east Jerusalem and access to Gaza, and it accused the Palestinians of bypassing negotiations with the campaign to upgrade their UN status.
The overwhelming vote also could help Abbas restore some of his standing, which has been eroded by years of standstill in peace efforts. The Palestinians now can gain access to UN agencies and international bodies, most significantly the International Criminal Court, which could become a springboard for going after Israel for alleged war crimes or its ongoing settlement building on war-won land.
This could help Palestinian and Israeli victims of human rights abuses and war crimes obtain a measure of justice, something other governments should not try to block. The vote was set for 29 November, the anniversary of the 1947 partition vote that led to the creation of Israel. An Arab Palestinian state was also called for in that UN resolution. The day is also the United Nations' International Day of solidarity with the Palestinian people./.
CPV