Amid
thunderous applause - and the ceremonious
unfurling of a Palestinian flag in the General
Assembly hall - the UN's highest policy-making
body Thursday voted overwhelmingly to elevate
Palestine from an "observer" to a "non-member
state". The final vote was 138 in favour against
nine opposed, with 41 abstentions.
The
United States and Israel, which unsuccessfully
lobbied against the resolution, found themselves
in the company of the Marshall Islands,
Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Panama, Canada and the
Czech Republic.
Surprisingly, the
Europeans and other industrialised nations voted
largely for Palestine.
The positive votes
included Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark,
France, Finland, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy,
Japan, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, Spain, New
Zealand, Norway, and
Luxembourg. The notable
abstentions included UK, Germany, Australia and
the Netherlands.
James A Paul, executive
director of the New York-based Global Policy
Forum, told IPS the resolution on Palestine is not
going to solve the crisis of the Palestinian
people, but it is an interesting step forward,
reflecting some new thinking in foreign ministries
following the recent events in Gaza.
"This
is especially true in Europe, where there was a
perceptible shift of position that was met with
alarm in Israel," he said.
In the end, the
Palestinians garnered over two-thirds of the total
votes, mostly from developing countries.
Still, non-member status for Palestine
fell short of full-fledged membership in the world
body, which has to be voted upon by the 15-member
Security Council.
US Ambassador Susan Rice
reiterated Washington's stand that it will not
support any attempts to provide Palestine full
membership in the world body. The US, a strong
political, economic and military supporter of
Israel, has threatened to exercise its veto if the
issue comes up before the Security Council.
Rice told delegates that progress toward a
just and lasting two-state solution cannot be made
by pressing a green voting button in the General
Assembly hall.
"Nor does passing any
resolution create a state where none indeed exists
or change the reality on the ground," she said.
For this reason, she said, the vote should
not be misconstrued by any as constituting
eligibility for UN membership.
"This
resolution does not establish that Palestine is a
state," she said.
Addressing the Assembly,
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas listed the
atrocities which Israel continues to commit
against the Palestinians in the occupied
territories.
Describing Israel's
occupation as "racist and colonial", he said the
General Assembly resolution was also the last
chance for the international community to reaffirm
the two-state solution: Israel and Palestine
living side by side.
Just before the vote,
Abbas said 65 years ago on this day, the General
Assembly adopted a resolution which partitioned
Palestine into two states that "became the birth
certificate of Israel".
Sixty-five years
later, he said, the Assembly stands before a moral
duty, which it must not hesitate to undertake and
a practical duty to salvage the chances for peace
which is urgent and cannot be postponed.
Paul
of the Global Policy Forum noted that the new
Palestinian status by itself will not by itself
change a great deal. But historically when
people's seek to gain recognition of a state, they
sometimes have to move by small steps towards much
larger goals. This move at the UN should be seen
in that light, he added. Paul said the
resolution opens up some interesting new
possibilities for diplomatic action.
"Let
us hope that the Palestinians can find the
internal unity to take good advantage," he said.
Ambassador Palitha Kohona, chair of the UN
Special Committee on Israeli Practices, which has
been critical of Israeli human rights violations
in the occupied territories, told IPS that for far
too long the international community's commitment,
as well as the responsibility to achieve a
comprehensive peace in the Middle East, has seen
little concrete results.
"Peace in the
Middle-East has eluded us for far too long and it
is a sad commentary on humanity that we have
failed in this pressing task," he said.
"Today, following the cessation of
hostilities in the latest round of violence, we
have another opportunity to escape the cycle of
bitterness and reach out for peace. Let us make
this an opportunity," he added.
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