Palestine attains non-member observer state status

Morocco World News

New York, UNITED NATIONS, Nov 29, 2012

The United Nations General Assembly has said its word late Thursday in favor of Palestine granting the latter state recognition with 138 votes despite fierce opposition from the United States, Canada and Israel.

138 countries vote in favor of the upgrade, 9 against it while 41 abstained, including Germany.

The 138 vote for the resolution enables the Palestinians to upgrade their status from “non-member observer entity” to “non-member observer state,” which allows Palestine to join U.N. agencies and sign international treaties.

With the new status, Palestinians will also enjoy full statehood in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza Strip. It allows them to join a number of UN agencies, as well as the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has given a strong and straightforward message to the General Assembly, explaining that “the General Assembly is called upon today to issue a birth certificate of the reality of the State of Palestine.”

“Sixty-five years ago on this day, the United Nations General Assembly adopted resolution 181, which partitioned the land of historic Palestine into two states and became the birth certificate for Israel,” he said.

Loud cheers was heard inside the General Assembly hall as Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas addressed the UN. The latter delivered starting an energetic speech in which he deplored the t the miserable conditions in which the Palestinians live, particularly in Gaza, which is under an illegal siege since 2006.

“Palestine comes today to the United Nations General Assembly at a time when it is still tending to its wounds and still burying its beloved martyrs of children, women and men who have fallen victim to the latest Israeli aggression” the Palestinian President said.

In contrast, as the Israeli Representative and Canadian Foreign affairs finished their statements, very few were the delegations that extended an ovation to them.

France along with many other European countries have previously confirmed their intention to vote for Palestinian non-member status at the United Nations.

“As it voted today for the recognition of Palestine as non-member observer state, France voted in favor of the two-state solution,” France’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Gerard Araud, said before the Assembly.

The United States and Canada firmly opposed the move, saying the only road to statehood for the Palestinians is through direct negotiations with Israel.

“We have long been clear that the only way to establish such a Palestinian state and resolve all permanent-status issues is through the crucial, if painful, work of direct negotiations between the parties,” the US Ambassador to the UN, Susan Rice, said after the vote.

“We will continue to oppose firmly any and all unilateral actions in international bodies or treaties that circumvent or prejudge the very outcomes that can only be negotiated, including Palestinian statehood. And, we will continue to stand up to every effort that seeks to delegitimize Israel or undermine its security,” she added.

The result of the vote is as follows:

In favor:

Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Comoros, Congo, Costa Rica, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, Cyprus, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, DR Congo, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Honduras, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Libya, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepa