UN General Assembly Backs Palestinian Statehood in Overwhelming Vote
The UN General Assembly voted 142–10 in favor of steps toward Palestinian statehood, intensifying global pressure on Israel amid the Gaza war.
UN members endorse declaration advancing Palestinian statehood despite opposition from Israel and the U.S. Photo: @The_NewArab
September 13, 2025 Hour: 4:10 am
The United Nations General Assembly has overwhelmingly endorsed a declaration urging concrete and irreversible steps toward establishing a Palestinian state, underscoring growing international pressure on Israel and its allies.
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On Friday, the Assembly voted 142–10, with 12 abstentions, to adopt the New York declaration. Drafted by France and Saudi Arabia in July, the seven-page text calls for “tangible, timebound, and irreversible steps” toward a two-state solution and for “collective action to end the Israeli war in Gaza.” Hamas is not included in the framework.
Israel, the United States, Argentina, Hungary, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, and Tonga opposed the measure. The declaration emerged from an international UN conference on Israel’s decades-long occupation, which both Washington and Tel Aviv boycotted.
Backed by the Arab League and co-signed in July by 17 UN member states, the declaration adds to mounting diplomatic momentum. Belgium, France, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia have announced plans to recognize Palestinian statehood during the current General Assembly session, joining 147 countries that already do so. Roughly three-quarters of UN members recognize the State of Palestine, first proclaimed in 1988.
Israeli leaders rejected the initiative. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel “would never accept a Palestinian state.” Foreign Minister Gideon Saar warned that European recognition could push Tel Aviv into “unilateral decisions.” Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich pledged to annex more than 80 percent of the occupied West Bank, announcing on August 14 a settlement expansion plan he said “buries the concept of a Palestinian state.”
In July 2024, the International Court of Justice ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory was illegal and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
The vote comes amid Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza. Since October 2023, more than 64,700 Palestinians have been killed and over 164,000 wounded, according to official figures.
The Assembly’s vote highlights the widening isolation of Israel and the U.S. as international recognition of Palestinian statehood gains ground, framing the two-state solution as central to ending the war in Gaza and resolving decades of occupation.
Author: MK
Source: PressTV
