UN General Assembly adopts ‘one-sided declaration’ in push towards Palestinian state

The U.N. General Assembly voted on Sept. 12 to adopt the so-called New York Declaration on the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine, which outlines the implementation of a two-state solution and the path towards recognition of a Palestinian state. The margin of the vote was 142-10, with 12 abstentions. Israel and the United States opposed the measure, as did Argentina, Hungary, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay and Tonga.

This one-sided declaration will not be remembered as a step toward peace, only as another hollow gesture that weakens this assembly’s credibility,” stated Danny Danon, the Israeli ambassador to the United Nations. “This is not diplomacy,” he said. “It is theater.” Danon accused the General Assembly of “trying to force through the back door what cannot stand at the negotiating table.”

The declaration was first published in late July during a conference led by France and Saudi Arabia intended to expand recognition of a Palestinian state. While the document marks the first time the Arab League and its member states condemned Hamas and expressed that the terror group must no longer govern the Gaza Strip, it also condemns “the attacks by Israel against civilians in Gaza and civilian infrastructure” that have “resulted in a devastating humanitarian catastrophe and protection crisis.” (Read More)