NEW YORK : The United Nations General Assembly has overwhelmingly backed a resolution reviving a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine, less than 24 hours after Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said there would never be a Palestinian state.
The “New York Declaration”, which outlines “tangible, timebound, and irreversible steps” towards a two-state solution, was adopted on Friday by 142 votes in favour, 10 against – including Israel and key ally the United States – and 12 abstentions
Presented by France and Saudi Arabia, the seven-page document 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”.
It also orders Palestinian group Hamas, which runs the government in Gaza, to “free all hostages”, stipulating that it must “end its rule in Gaza and hand over its weapons to the Palestinian Authority … in line with the objective of a sovereign and independent Palestinian State”.
Palestine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed Saudi-French efforts to create an “actionable plan” towards a two-state solution. The ministry also called for “activating all mechanisms to end the Israeli colonial occupation” and “achieve the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people”.
Attempt to ‘take negotiation process forward’
The UN’s ringing endorsement of the two-state solution came amid Israel’s continued bombardment of Gaza, one day after Netanyahu signed off on a settlement expansion plan in the occupied West Bank that would make any future Palestinian state virtually impossible.Al Jazeerah, photo AFP
