UN General Assembly backs Palestinian bid for full membership

The United Nations (UN) General Assembly on Friday overwhelmingly backed a Palestinian bid to become a full UN member by recognizing it as qualified to join and recommending the UN Security Council "reconsider the matter favorably."

The vote by the 193-member General Assembly was a global survey of support for the Palestinian bid to become a full UN member – a move that would effectively recognize a Palestinian state – after the U.S. vetoed it in the UN Security Council last month.

The assembly adopted a resolution with 143 votes in favor and nine against – including the U.S. and Israel – while 25 countries abstained. 

The resolution "determines that the State of Palestine ... should therefore be admitted to membership" and it "recommends that the Security Council reconsider the matter favorably."

Under the founding UN Charter, membership is open to "peace-loving states" that accept the obligations in that document and are able and willing to carry them out.

An application to become a full UN member first needs to be approved by the 15-member Security Council and then the General Assembly. 

The General Assembly resolution adopted on Friday does not grant the Palestinians full UN membership but recognizes them as qualified to join. If the measure is again voted on by the council, it is likely to face the same fate: a U.S. veto.

International reactions

Saudi Arabia's permanent representative to the United Nations, Abdulaziz Alwasil, said that "the resolution presented today is fully in line with those resolutions. It seeks to implement the will of the international community and contribute to building true peace in the Middle East based on the two-state solution."

"It is high time for the international community to re-establish the truth because the world can no longer ignore the suffering of the Palestinian people that has lasted for decades," he said after the vote.

The United Arab Emirates' permanent representative to the United Nations, Mohamed Abushahab, addressed the General Assembly before the vote, emphasizing the broad recognition of the legitimacy of Palestine's bid.

He stated, "The vast majority of countries in the General Assembly are fully aware of the legitimacy of the Palestinian bid and the justness of their cause, which faces fierce attempts to suppress it and render it meaningless today."

He further noted that granting Palestine full membership would send a "powerful message" in support of the two-state solution, adding, "Fulfilling the UN's historic obligation towards the Palestinian people is long overdue, but it is never too late."

Pakistan's permanent representative to the United Nations, Munir Akram, told the General Assembly that there will come a day when Israel will be held accountable for crimes committed against Palestinians, especially in Gaza.

The insults hurled today are "the arrogance of the aggressor" reflecting the impunity of the occupier, he said, explaining his delegation's position ahead of the vote on the draft resolution.

Israel's permanent representative to the UN, Gilad Erdan, criticized the assembly after the vote. He said the assembly trampled on the UN Charter, and he then destroyed a copy of the charter with a small shredder while at the lectern.

Deputy U.S. Ambassador to the UN Robert Wood told the assembly after the vote that unilateral measures at the UN and on the ground will not advance a two-state solution.

"Our vote does not reflect opposition to Palestinian statehood; we have been very clear that we support it and seek to advance it meaningfully. Instead, it is an acknowledgement that statehood will only come from a process that involves direct negotiations between the parties," he said.

The UN has long endorsed a vision of two states living side by side within secure and recognized borders. Palestinians want a state in the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza Strip, all territory captured by Israel in the 1967 war with neighboring Arab states.

(With input from agencies)