Large parts of the global community are supporting the Palestinians in the midst of the Gaza war: They are getting more rights at the UN – and international pressure on the USA is increasing.
The United Nations General Assembly significantly strengthens the role of the Palestinians within the largest UN body. A resolution passed by an overwhelming majority in New York grants the observer state of Palestine significantly expanded participation in General Assembly sessions, but does not give it regular voting rights. In addition, the body with 193 member states called on the crucial UN Security Council to “benevolently” consider full membership for Palestine.
143 countries voted for the resolution, 9 states voted against it. 25 countries abstained – including Great Britain and Germany, which does not recognize Palestine as an independent country. Israel’s closest ally, the United States, rejected the request.
The General Assembly states with the assumption that the “State of Palestine (…) should be admitted to membership in the United Nations” – the Security Council should “reconsider this favorably”. The USA confirmed that in this case it would once again use its right of veto in the most powerful UN body with its 15 members. Against the backdrop of the Gaza war, the vote was also seen as an indication of the international mood regarding the recent escalations in the Middle East conflict. At the United Nations, there is a clear majority for resolutions critical of Israel or pro-Palestinian. There is no right of veto in the general assembly.
Germany abstains and advocates a two-state solution
After abstaining from a UN vote recommending full Palestinian membership in the United Nations, Germany emphasized the goal of a two-state solution in the Middle East. “If immediate full membership would end all the suffering we are experiencing, we would have voted yes today wholeheartedly,” German Deputy Ambassador Thomas Zahneisen told the UN General Assembly in New York. However, only direct negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians could lead to a sustainable peace.
Israel’s ambassador: UN opens up to “modern Nazis”
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz strongly condemns the UN General Assembly’s decision to strengthen the rights of Palestinians in the world organization’s largest body. “The political theater of the United Nations made an arbitrary, absurd and incoherent decision that rewards the murderers of Hamas,” the politician wrote on the X platform on Friday.
Before the vote, Israeli UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan had already told the General Assembly in clear terms that he wanted to promote “the establishment of a Palestinian terrorist state.” “You have opened the United Nations to modern-day Nazis and genocidal jihadists who are committed to establishing an Islamic state throughout Israel, in the region, and murdering every Jewish man, woman and child. It makes me sick.” In a symbolic act, Erdan shredded pieces of paper in front of the lectern that read “United Nations Charter.” He ended his speech with the words “shame on you.”
The Palestinian UN Ambassador Riad Mansour was confident that he would one day be a full member of the United Nations, despite the US blockade on the UN Security Council. “Without a doubt the day will come when Palestine will take its rightful place in the community of free nations. Occupation and colonialism and death and destruction are not our destiny. They are forced upon us. But freedom is our only destiny.”
Pro-Palestinian vote puts US under pressure
The now adopted bill called “Draft Resolution on the Admission of New Members to the United Nations” and the clear pro-Palestinian vote now put the USA under further pressure amid growing criticism of Israel’s conduct of the war in the Gaza Strip. The US government reiterated its position that agreement with Israel on a two-state solution would be a prerequisite for recognizing full UN membership for Palestine. Applications for membership in the UN Security Council therefore failed in mid-April and as early as 2011. The UN Charter stipulates that the admission of a new member state takes place on the “recommendation of the Security Council by resolution of the General Assembly”.
In the UN General Assembly, the Palestinians will now be allowed to behave in a similar way to normal members: representatives of Palestine are also allowed to speak on topics that have nothing to do with the Middle East conflict. They can also submit amendments to resolutions or propose new agenda items and carry out functions within the plenary session. The draft calls on other United Nations bodies to grant Palestine similar rights. But it is also emphasized that Palestinians have no voting rights and are not allowed to run for UN bodies.
