Israel slams UN General Assembly endorsement of two-state solution
Israel has rejected a UN General Assembly motion calling for a two-state solution as "detached from reality." The US was also critical. Hours earlier, Netanyahu had said: "There will be no Palestinian state" as he launched a key settlement project on the West Bank.
Washington (dpa/AP) - The UN General Assembly on Friday endorsed a document calling for a two-state solution to the war in the Gaza Strip and an end to Hamas control of the war-ravaged territory, prompting anger from Israel.
A total of 142 countries supported the motion, with 10 votes against, including the US and Israel, and 12 abstentions.
The vote took place ahead of a meeting on the issue on September 22 before the UN General Debate, for which French President Emmanuel Macron has announced his country's official recognition of Palestine as a state.
It was the second session of the UN General Assembly and the first vote under the leadership of the new president and former German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock.
"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," the document states, also condemning the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
Israel: General Assembly 'detached from reality'
"Israel utterly rejects the decision of the UN General Assembly this evening," Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Oren Marmorstein said in a post on X.
"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."
The resolution does not promote a peaceful solution but encourages Hamas to continue the war, Marmorstein added.
The paper seeks to act as a roadmap for resolving the Middle East conflict with two coexisting states, Israel and Palestine. "The war in Gaza must end now," it says, referring to one of the prerequisites for the two-state solution, to which it says Israel must commit.
The document condemns Israel's military actions, especially in the Gaza Strip, and demands the army withdraw from the coastal area. It calls for a ceasefire as well as the release of Israeli hostages, and demands a halt to the actions of Israeli settlers in the West Bank.
The seven-page New York Declaration was drafted at the end of July at a UN conference hosted by France and Saudi Arabia.
Israeli and US critical
At the time, a group of 17 countries, including Britain, Canada, Brazil and Jordan, signed the paper. Israel and its closest ally, the United States, boycotted the event and sharply criticized it.
Hours before the vote, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said "there will be no Palestinian state." He spoke at the signing of an agreement to expand settlements that will divide the West Bank, which the Palestinians insist must be part of their state, saying, "This place belongs to us."
The resolution was sponsored by France and Saudi Arabia, who co-chaired a high-level conference on implementing a two-state solution in late July, where the declaration was approved.
The nearly two-year war in Gaza and the broader Israeli-Palestinian conflict are expected to be at the top of the agenda of world leaders at their annual gathering at the General Assembly starting on Sept. 22. The Palestinians say they hope at least 10 more countries will recognize the state of Palestine, adding to the more than 145 countries that already do.
Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian UN ambassador, said the support for the resolution reflects "the yearning of almost everyone, the international community, to open the door for the option of peace."
Without naming Israel, he said, "We invite a party that is still pushing the option of war and destruction, and attempts to eliminate the Palestinian people and steal their land, to listen to the sound of reason — to the sound of the logic of dealing with this issue peacefully, and for the overwhelming message that has resonated in this General Assembly today."
But Israel's UN Ambassador Danny Danon dismissed the resolution as "theatre," saying the only beneficiary is Hamas.
"This one-sided declaration will not be remembered as a step toward peace, only as another hollow gesture that weakens this assembly's credibility," he said.
The United States, Israel's closest ally, reiterated its opposition to the New York Declaration and the General Assembly resolution endorsing implementation of the two-state solution.
The resolution "is yet another misguided and ill-timed publicity stunt that undermines serious diplomatic efforts to end the conflict," US Mission counsellor Morgan Ortagus said. "Make no mistake, this resolution is a gift to Hamas."
Rare Arab condemnation of Hamas
The declaration condemns "the attacks committed by Hamas against civilians" in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, a rare condemnation by Arab nations of Hamas. The Hamas-led militants killed about 1,200 people, mainly Israeli civilians, and took about 250 hostage. Of those, 48 are still being held, including about 20 who are believed to be alive.
It also condemns Israel's attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure in Gaza and its "siege and starvation, which have produced a devastating humanitarian catastrophe and protection crisis." Israel's offensive against Hamas has killed over 64,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which doesn't distinguish between civilians and combatants.
The declaration envisions the Palestinian Authority governing and controlling all Palestinian territory, with a transitional administrative committee immediately established under its umbrella after a ceasefire 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," the declaration says.
It also supports deployment of "a temporary international stabilization mission" operating under UN auspices to protect Palestinian civilians, support the transfer of security to the Palestinian Authority and provide security guarantees for Palestine and Israel — "including monitoring of the ceasefire and of a future peace agreement."
The declaration urges countries to recognize the state of Palestine, calling this "an essential and indispensable component of the achievement of the two-state solution." Without naming Israel but clearly referring to it, the document says "illegal unilateral actions are posing an existential threat to the realization of the independent state of Palestine."