UN overwhelmingly approves Palestinian statehood resolution as Israel calls it 'theatre'

The UN General Assembly approved a resolution advanced by France and Saudi Arabia on Friday, which supports the advancement of an "irreversible" path to Palestinian statehood. The resolution was approved by a majority of 142 countries, with 10 voting against and 12 abstaining, on the "New York Declaration on the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution."

The declaration endorsed by the resolution says the war in Gaza "must end now" and support the deployment of a temporary international stabilization mission mandated by the UN Security Council. The United States described the vote as "yet another misguided and ill-timed publicity stunt" that undermined serious diplomatic efforts to end the conflict. 

"Make no mistake, this resolution is a gift to Hamas," US diplomat Morgan Ortagus told the General Assembly. "Far from promoting peace, the conference has already prolonged the war, emboldened Hamas and harmed the prospects of peace in both short and long term." (Read More)