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UNGA supports future Palestinian state but without Hamas
UNITED NATIONS: The UN General Assembly on Friday adopted the “New York Declaration” which aims to breathe new life into the two-state solution between Israel and Palestine — without the involvement of Hamas — by establishing a Palestinian state.
The text was adopted by 142 votes in favour, 10 against — including Israel and key ally the United States — and 12 abstentions. It clearly condemns Hamas and demands that it surrender its weapons.
Read more: No annexation attempt will derail Two-State Solution push: Macron
Argentina, Hungary, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay and Tonga were the other eight countries voting against the New York Declaration.
Later, Israel not surprisingly described the New York Declaration as “disgraceful” and said the document was encouraged Hamas — although it clearly talks about a Hamas-free Palestine.
“Once again, it has been proven how much the General Assembly is a political circus detached from reality: in the dozens of clauses of the declaration endorsed by this resolution, there is not a single mention that Hamas is a terrorist organization,” Israeli foreign ministry spokesperson Oren Marmorstein said in a post on X on Friday.
CHARTING A NEW PATH
In his reaction, President Emmanuel Macron said, “Together, we are charting an irreversible path towards peace in the Middle East.”
He also promised that “France, Saudi Arabia, and all their partners” at the September 22 conference on the two-state solution would “make this peace plan a reality”.
UNILATERAL RECOGNITION
The development comes just a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose government is pressing ahead with the Greater Israel plan, said, ““We are going to fulfil our promise that there will be no Palestinian state, this place belongs to us.”
Also on Friday, the US State Department said Secretary of State Marco Rubio will leave Saturday on a trip to Israel to offer support before French-led moves to recognise a Palestinian state.
He will speak to Israeli leaders about “our commitment to fight anti-Israel actions including unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state that rewards Hamas terrorism,” State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said in a statement.
EXCISING HAMAS FROM GAZA
Although Israel has criticized UN bodies for nearly two years over their failure to condemn Hamas’s attack on October 7, 2023, the declaration, presented by France and Saudi Arabia, leaves no ambiguity.
Formally called the New York Declaration on the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution, the text states that “Hamas must free all hostages” and that the UN General Assembly condemns “the attacks committed by Hamas against civilians on the 7th of October.”
It also calls for “collective action to end the war in Gaza, to achieve a just, peaceful and lasting settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict based on the effective implementation of the Two-State solution.”
The declaration, which was already endorsed by the Arab League and co-signed in July by 17 UN member states, including several Arab countries, also goes further than condemning Hamas, seeking to fully excise them from leadership in Gaza.
“In the context of ending the war in Gaza, Hamas must end its rule in Gaza and hand over its weapons to the Palestinian Authority, with international engagement and support, in line with the objective of a sovereign and independent Palestinian State,” the declaration states.
FRANCE AND SAUDI ARABIA
Meanwhile, the vote precedes an upcoming UN summit co-chaired by Riyadh and Paris on September 22 in New York, in which French President Emmanuel Macron has promised to formally recognise the Palestinian state.
Read more: ‘No alternative’ to two-state solution: France
“The fact that the General Assembly is finally backing a text that condemns Hamas directly is significant,” even if “Israelis will say it is far too little, far too late,” Richard Gowan, UN Director at the International Crisis Group, told AFP.
“Now at least states supporting the Palestinians can rebuff Israeli accusations that they implicitly condone Hamas,” he said, adding that it “offers a shield against Israeli criticism.”
In addition to Macron, several other leaders have announced their intent to formally recognize the Palestinian state during the UN summit.
The gestures are seen as a means of increasing pressure on Israel to end the war in Gaza, which was triggered by the October 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas.
TEMPORARY MISSION
The New York Declaration includes discussion of a “deployment of a temporary international stabilization mission” to the battered region under the mandate of the UN Security Council, aiming to support the Palestinian civilian population and facilitate security responsibilities to the Palestinian Authority.
Read more: No two-state solution? Hamas-led factions won’t stop resistance
Around three-quarters of the 193 UN member states recognise the Palestinian state proclaimed in 1988 by the exiled Palestinian leadership.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, meanwhile, may be prevented from visiting New York for the UN summit after US authorities said they would deny him a visa.
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