‘The General Assembly is called upon today to issue a birth certificate of the reality of the state of Pakistan.’ – Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (AP)
The Palestinians won virtual recognition as a nation from the UN General Assembly yesterday, but a bipartisan group of US senators warned it could cost the new “state” millions in aid if it uses it as a weapon against Israel.
The UN resolution was approved overwhelmingly, 138 to 9 with 41 abstentions, with the US, Israel and their allies opposing it.
The vote raised the Palestinian Authority’s UN status from “entity”to “non-member state,” like the Vatican, and it was widely seen as a recognition of Palestinian statehood.
It came 65 years to the day that the UN General Assembly called for the former British mandate to be divided into a Jewish state and a Palestinian state.
That compromise was rejected by the Palestinians and their Arab allies, leading to the first of several Mideast wars, in 1948.
Yesterday’s resolution allows the Palestinian Authority to join UN agencies, including the International Criminal Court, where the Palestinians could bring cases against Israel for alleged war crimes.
But four senators, including Charles Schumer (D-NY), said they would propose legislation that would strip the Palestinian Authority of crucial US financial aid if it brings any case against Israel to the Hague-based court.
Palestinian Authority officials said this week they might bring a murder case against Israel to the court if poison is found in the body of Yasser Arafat, which was exhumed this week.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas stressed the historic nature of the vote.
“The General Assembly is called upon today to issue a birth certificate of the reality of the state of Palestine,” he told the delegates.
US diplomats visited Abbas at his New York hotel before the vote, but failed to talk him out of pressing the resolution.
“Today’s unfortunate and counterproductive resolution places further obstacles in the path of peace,” US Ambassador Susan Rice told the delegates.
No major peace negotiations have been held for two years.
The Palestinian victory was widely expected because of the Third World majority and the absence of vetoes in the 193-nation General Assembly. But the margin of victory and support from European states was a surprise.
Israeli UN Ambassador Ron Prosor, speaking after Abbas, said the resolution “doesn’t enhance peace. It pushes it backwards.”
“No decision by the UN can break the 4,000-year-old bond between the people of Israel and the land of Israel,” he said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denounced Abbas’ speech as “defamatory and venomous” and damaging to the peace process.
“The Palestinians must recognize the Jewish state, and they must be prepared to end the conflict with Israel once and for all,” he said.