The UN General Assembly voted on Friday on a resolution that will give Palestine new “rights and privileges”.
The resolution refers to previous UN resolutions and “affirms the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, including the right to their independent state of Palestine”. Today, Palestine has observer status.
Norway was among 143 countries that voted for the resolution.
– This is a historic decision made in the UN General Assembly, says Norway’s Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide (Ap) to VG.
Eide confirms that Norway stood behind it as a proposer.
– And of course we voted in favor.
Now Norway and the other member states are asking the Security Council to reconsider Palestine’s application to become a full member of the UN.
US veto
When the proposal reaches the Security Council, the resolution will be rejected by the United States. This is announced by the US ambassador to the UN, Robert Wood.
– Since the beginning, we have been very clear that there is a process to achieve full membership in the UN, and this proposal proposed by some Arab countries and Palestine is an attempt to bypass this, Wood said on Thursday.
The US vetoed Palestinian membership on 18 April. The resolution voted through today expresses “deep regret and concern” for the US’s choice then.
– We will see if the US will be able to change its view, says Eide.
– The resolution today is a strong signal. A signal that the international community supports the Palestinian people’s demand for a separate state.
These 33 countries are behind the proposal:
- Bahrain,
- Bangladesh,
- Belize,
- Bolivia,
- Colombia,
- Cuba,
- Djibouti,
- Egypt,
- Gambia,
- Guyana,
- Jordan,
- Kuwait,
- Lebanon,
- Libya,
- Malaysia,
- Maldives,
- Mauritania,
- morocco,
- Namibia,
- Nicaragua,
- Oman,
- Qatar,
- Saint Lucia,
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines,
- Saudi Arabia,
- South Africa,
- Sudan,
- Uganda,
- United Arab Emirates,
- Venezuela,
- Yemen
- and the observer state of Palestine
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The proposed resolution calls for the Palestinians to take a seat among UN members from September, but without the right to vote.
The Palestinians’ push for full membership comes after seven months of war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
– I stand before you as lives continue to fall apart in Gaza, torn apart in the most brutal and devastating ways, says Riyad Mansour.
Palestine’s UN delegation believes the resolution confirms support for the Palestinians’ right to self-determination at a critical time.
They further write to UN member states on Thursday that support for full membership will be an investment in a two-state solution.
The UN has long supported a vision where Israel and Palestine exist side by side, within secure and recognized borders.
Demands an end to occupation
The UN General Assembly also asks that the international community contribute more to the effort to “immediately end the Israeli occupation that began in 1967”.
The UN has 193 member states today. Of those, 143 have recognized Palestine.
Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide (Ap) today denies that Norway recognizes Palestine as an independent state after today’s vote. But does not rule out that Norway, together with several EU countries, may change their views within a short time.
– A scandal
Israel has strongly opposed Palestine being recognized as a state and is against Palestinian membership in the UN.
During the vote on Friday, Israel’s UN ambassador, Gilan Erdan, chose to run a version of the UN Charter through a shredding machine. The UN Pact was created shortly after World War II to avoid war in the future.
Norway’s foreign minister reacts strongly to that.
– I think it is simply completely unacceptable to stand up and shred the UN pact. I have not seen the likes of behavior. Israel should be too good for this, he says to VG.
– It is really a scandal.
