UN Votes in Favor of Palestinian Upgrade

February 1, 2013

Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas stated, “The goal of the Palestinian people is the realization of their inalienable national rights in their independent State of Palestine, with east Jerusalem as its capital, on all the land of the West Bank, including east Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip, which Israel occupied in the June 1967 War.”

Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Ron Prosor, also addressed the body. “Israel is prepared to live in peace with a Palestinian state, but for peace to endure, Israel’s security must be protected. The Palestinians must recognize the Jewish state and they must be prepared to end the conflict with Israel once and for all. None of these vital interests, these vital interests of peace, none of them appear in the resolution that will be put forward before the General Assembly today, and that is why Israel cannot accept it. The only way to achieve peace is through agreements that are reached by the parties and not through UN resolutions that completely ignore Israel’s vital security and national interests. And because this resolution is so one-sided, it doesn’t advance peace, it pushes it backwards.”

With the November 29 vote, Palestine has achieved implicit recognition by the UN as a state. Full-fledged membership in the UN can only come by another vote—in the UN’s Security Council. However, the upgrade in status could grant Palestinian access to bodies like the International Criminal Court in The Hague where they could file complaints against Israel.

Source: By Janet Aslin, BFP Staff Writer

Photo Credit: www.wikipedia.org/public1london