UN Recognizes Palestinian State

UN Headquarters in New York City

The United Nations voted overwhelmingly Thursday to recognize a Palestinian state, a long-sought victory for the Palestinians but an embarrassing diplomatic defeat for the United States.

From the AP:

The resolution upgrading the Palestinians’ status to a nonmember observer state at the United Nations was approved by a more than two-thirds majority of the 193-member world body — a vote of 138-9, with 41 abstentions.

A Palestinian flag was quickly unfurled on the floor of the General Assembly, behind the Palestinian delegation. In the West Bank city of Ramallah, hundreds crowded into the main square waved Palestinian flags and chanted “God is great.” Others who had crowded around outdoor screens and television sets to watch the vote hugged, honked and set off fireworks before dancing in the streets.

Real independence, however, remains an elusive dream until the Palestinians negotiate a peace deal with the Israelis, who warned that the General Assembly action will only delay a lasting solution. Israel still controls the West Bank, east Jerusalem and access to Gaza, and it accused the Palestinians of bypassing negotiations with the campaign to upgrade their U.N. status.

The United States immediately criticized the historic vote. “Today’s unfortunate and counterproductive resolution places further obstacles in the path peace,” U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice said. And U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called the vote “unfortunate” and “counterproductive.”

The United States and Israel voted against recognition, joined by Canada, the Czech Republic, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau and Panama.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the speech by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to the General Assembly shortly before the vote “defamatory and venomous,” saying it was “full of mendacious propaganda” against Israel. He called the vote meaningless.

Abbas had told the General Assembly that it was “being asked today to issue the birth certificate of Palestine.” Abbas said the vote is the last chance to save the two-state solution.

After the vote, Netanyahu said the UN move violated past agreements between Israel and the Palestinians and that Israel would act accordingly, without elaborating what steps it might take.

Just before the vote, Israel’s U.N. ambassador, Ron Prosor, warned the General Assembly that “the Palestinians are turning their backs on peace” and that the U.N. can’t break the 4,000-year-old bond between the people of Israel and the land of Israel.

The vote had been certain to succeed, with most of the member states sympathetic to the Palestinians. Several key countries, including France, this week announced they would support the move to elevate the Palestinians from the status of U.N. observer to nonmember observer state.

Thursday’s vote came on the same day, Nov. 29, that the U.N. General Assembly in 1947 voted to recognize a state in Palestine, with the jubilant revelers then Jews. The Palestinians rejected that partition plan, and decades of tension and violence have followed.

The vote grants Abbas an overwhelming international endorsement for his key position: establishment of a Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem, the territories captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war. With Netanyahu opposed to a pullback to the 1967 lines, this should strengthen Abbas’ hand if peace talks resume.

The overwhelming vote also could help Abbas restore some of his standing, which has been eroded by years of standstill in peace efforts. His rival, Hamas, deeply entrenched in Gaza, has seen its popularity rise after an Israeli offensive on targets linked to the Islamic militant group there earlier this month.

Israel has stepped back from initial threats of harsh retaliation for the Palestinians seeking U.N. recognition, but government officials warned that Israel would respond to any Palestinian attempts to use the upgraded status to confront Israel in international bodies.
The Palestinians now can gain access to U.N. agencies and international bodies, most significantly the International Criminal Court, which could become a springboard for going after Israel for alleged war crimes or its ongoing settlement building on war-won land.

However, in the run-up to the U.N. vote, Abbas signaled that he wants recognition to give him leverage in future talks with Israel, and not as a tool for confronting or delegitimizing Israel, as Israeli leaders have alleged.

17 Comments

  • Thinkster

    The UN has again displayed it’s complete disregard for truth, justice and morality. This is to be expected.
    In fact a friend of mine recently took a tour of the UN building in New York. He told me that even the guidebook is spineless.

    Abbas, which is Arabic for ‘BS Artist’ has again portrayed his complete and utter incompetence in the pursuit of anything that even remotely resembles peace. This too is to be expected, as the oxygen deprivation during his birth has made him…..different.

    Let us holler the truth from the peaks of the minarets – let us shout in unison in a voice that will reverberate throughout the nations until the end of time “This is Zion! And we are not afraid!”

  • Nothing Changed

    They always supported Israel’s many enemies and they always supported terrorism. Now that the UN can officially be recognized as an enemy, Israel may finally feel free to properly defend herself without constantly trying to appease groups that were never interested in her welfare.

  • ? I dont understand

    Why would they do that? what did the Palestine people do to deserve that title?

  • noble

    AND Netanyahu knows what Chabad knows, that Torah forbids us to give up any land which is Ours.
    Giving away Gush Katif was one immense mistake which gave abeit fake power to the evil ones, but dangerous enough.
    what can we “little” guys do? Keep Torah and Mitzvos. Watch that no loshon hora is said, do acts, deeds of chessed, be fair, learn Tanya to know how to control your yetzer hora, etc. We must bring more kedusha into this world. Find the tough issues and deal with it the Torah way, not your nefesh habahamas way.

  • Dont get it

    Forgive my ignorance…doesn’t Israel keep saying they believe in a two state solution? If you keep saying it, saying it, saying it, you get it.
    The problem is not the UN. The problem is Israel. Israel has legitimized the UN. Israel has legitimized the “Palestinians”, Israel has been utterly schizophrenic on the issue.

  • Can we get a Like button on this cite

    I like a lot of your comments, especially the thinkster one. Please install a like button!!!!!

  • Hashem watches us and protects us

    We are living in a crazy world… People voting for Socialist Obama, UN recognizing Palestine by an overwhelming amount of nations… In every generation, they try to destroy us, but we must remain firm in our beliefs. We have G-d on our side!

  • Dan

    They bring their own downfall through that. We know it from the Mabul, whenever the people of the world (which the UN somehow represents)decide to legitimze a sin, like marrying men to men and men to beast, as happened in the time beofre the Mabul, Hashem cannot and will not look away anymore and will be promted to install justice again. To declare openely a sin or a concept that is against Hashem’s Will as alright and according to human law – is a full manifest attack on Hashem Himself. So maybe this what happened was actually good for Am Israel, bc. now the UN clearly and openely went against Israel and Hashem and openely declared falsehood to be lawfull, which for sure will bring an appropriate reaction from above and hopefully the revelation of Mashiach Tzidkeinu and the utter annihilation of the House of Darknes. May it be so. Amen

  • Israel is indestructible

    An Israeli sergeant told me:“Israel is indestructible. So, what’s the big deal by making a compromise to bring peace, and when the Moshiach comes, we’re going to get it back anyway, plus more?”

  • The handout

    Wondering if Israel made the following Cheshbon:

    You see, Israel likes American and other(Germany gives billions) in aid. Now, you cannot downplay the importance of that, “can’t live without money.” Like they say when you work for big money,“if the customer says jump, you jump.”

    So, whether we like it or not, if they threaten to cut-off the supply line because they don’t like what you are doing – now, you have to make a serious appraisal of the situation like this: what’s going to cause more loss of life and suffering, terrorism or economic hardship?

    Unfortunately, they don’t have enough faith in the Rebbe like we do. So, according to logic, they may be deciding the best of the bad lot.

  • # 12 Please read this book

    Sh’lemus Ha’aretz

    When Silence is A Sin
    or
    “Korati v’ein oneh”

  • Mendy Hecht

    Short historical synopsis here.

    Arab/Muslim Middle East, 1947: We don’t want a Palestinian state. It doesn’t help us in our goal of there not being a Jewish state.

    Arab/Muslim Middle East, 2012: We do want a Palestinian state. It does help us in our goal of there not being a Jewish state.

  • Answer to #10. Israel is indestructible

    Israel may be indestructible

    BUT What about the lives of 10’s of 1000’s of Jews that will be killed because of giving Israel giving strategic land to Palestinian terrorists