UN General Assembly backs two-state solution for Israel and Palestine
142 voted in favour, 10 against – including Israel and key ally the United States – and 12 in abstentions.
The UN General Assembly has overwhelmingly approved a resolution supporting a declaration that calls for "tangible, timebound, and irreversible steps" toward a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians, without the involvement of Hamas.
The seven-page declaration stems from a July UN conference hosted by Saudi Arabia and France on the decades-long conflict. The United States and Israel boycotted the meeting.
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The resolution passed with 142 votes in favour, 10 against, and 12 abstentions.
The vote comes ahead of a September 22 UN summit in New York co-chaired by Riyadh and Paris, where French President Emmanuel Macron has pledged to formally recognise a Palestinian state.
Several other leaders plan to announce their recognition of a Palestinian state at the summit, increasing pressure on Israel to end the Gaza war.
Israel, however, rejected the UN declaration that outlines steps towards a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians.
In a post on X, Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oren Marmorstein said the declaration demonstrated the General Assembly was a "political circus detached from reality."
"The resolution does not advance a solution of peace, on the contrary, it encourages Hamas to continue the war," he continued.
The document called for Hamas to end its rule in the Palestinian enclave and hand over its weapons to the Palestinian Authority with the support of a temporary international stabilisation mission.
It also called for the release of Israeli hostages. In turn, Israel is called on to cease settlement activities in the occupied West Bank and end its military strikes on the Gaza Strip.
On Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed there "will never be a Palestinian state," as he signed off on the controversial expansion of an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank.
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