The UN General Assembly voted Friday to back a resolution which seeks to breathe new life into the two-state solution between Israel and Palestine — without the involvement of Hamas.
The text was adopted by 142 votes in favor, 10 against — including Israel and key ally the United States — and 12 abstentions. It clearly condemns Hamas and demands that it surrender its weapons.
Although Israel has criticized UN bodies for nearly two years over their failure to condemn Hamas’s attack on October 7, 2023, the declaration, presented by France and Saudi Arabia, leaves no ambiguity.
Formally called the New York Declaration on the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution, the text states that “Hamas must free all hostages” and that the UN General Assembly condemns “the attacks committed by Hamas against civilians on the 7th of October.”
It also calls for “collective action to end the war in Gaza, to achieve a just, peaceful and lasting settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict based on the effective implementation of the Two-State solution.”
The declaration, which was already endorsed by the Arab League and co-signed in July by 17 UN member states, including several Arab countries, also seeks to fully exclude Hamas from leadership in Gaza.
“In the context of ending the war in Gaza, Hamas must end its rule in Gaza and hand over its weapons to the Palestinian Authority, with international engagement and support, in line with the objective of a sovereign and independent Palestinian State,” the declaration states.
Palestinian vice president Hussein al-Sheikh welcomed the decision, saying the resolution “expresses international willingness to support our people’s rights and constitutes an important step towards ending the occupation and achieving our independent state.”
Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Oren Marmorstein meanwhile slammed the vote, saying in a post on X that Israel “utterly rejects” the declaration, calling it evidence that the General Assembly had become “a political circus detached from reality.”
