The United Nations General Assembly on Friday overwhelmingly voted to endorse a declaration outlining “tangible, timebound, and irreversible steps” towards a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians ahead of a meeting of world leaders.
The seven-page declaration is the result of an international conference at the UN in July – hosted by Saudi Arabia and France – on the decades-long conflict.
The United States and Israel boycotted the event. A resolution endorsing the declaration received 142 votes in favor and 10 against, while 12 countries abstained.
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 “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.
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 recognize the Palestinian state.
“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.
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.
Pakistan pledges support for Qatar
Meanwhile, Pakistan on Friday pledged its support to Qatar for the defense of its sovereignty after this week’s Israeli airstrikes targeted Hamas leaders in Doha, raising alarm about a potential military escalation in an already volatile region.
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) condemned the strikes, but did not mention Israel in a statement agreed to by all 15 members at an emergency meeting summoned at the request of Algeria, Pakistan and Somalia.
On Thursday, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani in Doha to stress Muslim unity as the Gulf country called for a collective regional response to Israeli airstrikes.
“The Prime Minister conveyed Pakistan’s strongest condemnation of the Israeli attack on Doha on September 9, terming it a blatant and flagrant violation of Qatar’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Shafqat Ali Khan, a spokesperson for the Pakistani foreign office, told reporters in Islamabad.
“Pakistan will continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with the brotherly people and the leadership of Qatar in defense of their national sovereignty and security.”
Khan said the leadership and people of Pakistan were deeply disturbed by this attack.
Separately, Israeli strikes killed at least 40 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Friday, local health authorities said, most of them in Gaza City, where many residents are staying put despite Israeli evacuation orders because they have nowhere safe to go.