142 countries vote in favour of two-state solution for Israel and Palestine

The United Nations General Assembly on Friday overwhelmingly voted to endorse a declaration calling for “tangible, timebound, and irreversible steps” towards a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine. The resolution, based on a seven-page declaration from an international conference co-hosted by Saudi Arabia and France in July, received 142 votes in favour, 10 against, and 12 abstentions. Both the United States and Israel boycotted the July conference and rejected the resolution. The declaration, endorsed by the 193-member Assembly, condemns the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel, w

The United Nations General Assembly on Friday overwhelmingly voted to endorse a declaration calling for “tangible, timebound, and irreversible steps” towards a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine. The resolution, based on a seven-page declaration from an international conference co-hosted by Saudi Arabia and France in July, received 142 votes in favour, 10 against, and 12 abstentions. Both the United States and Israel boycotted the July conference and rejected the resolution. The declaration, endorsed by the 193-member Assembly, condemns the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel, which killed 1,200 people and saw 251 taken hostage, while also condemning Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, including strikes on civilians and infrastructure, as well as siege tactics that have caused what the UN describes as a “devastating humanitarian catastrophe.”

French President Emmanuel Macron hailed the outcome, saying it marked an “irreversible path towards peace.” “France, Saudi Arabia, and all their partners will be in New York to make this peace plan a reality at the Conference on the Two-State Solution. Another future is possible. Two peoples, two States: Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security,” Macron wrote on X. All Gulf Arab states voted in favour, while the United States, Israel, Argentina, Hungary, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, and Tonga opposed the measure. The declaration also called for an immediate end to the Gaza war and supported the deployment of a temporary international stabilization mission under a U.N. Security Council mandate. Washington dismissed the resolution, calling it “yet another misguided and ill-timed publicity stunt” that undermined ongoing diplomatic efforts. Israel’s U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon was more scathing, accusing the Assembly of siding with Hamas. “The only beneficiary is Hamas… When terrorists are the ones cheering, you are not advancing peace; you are advancing terror,” he said. The vote comes ahead of a September 22 meeting of world leaders on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, where several countries, including Britain, are expected to formally recognize a Palestinian state. The latest initiative is the strongest international push in years for a two-state solution  the idea of Israel and Palestine existing side by side in peace. However, with more than 64,000 Palestinians killed in Gaza since October 2023, according to local health authorities, and Israel rejecting the U.N.’s plan, achieving peace remains uncertain. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has persisted for more than a century, rooted in competing claims to the same land since the late 19th century. While the U.N. partition plan of 1947 first envisioned two states, decades of wars, uprisings, and failed negotiations have left the vision unrealized.