The United Nations General Assembly voted Friday to endorse a major declaration pushing for concrete, time-bound steps toward a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine. The declaration
also condemns violence from both Hamas and Israel.
The seven-page document grew out of a July peace conference at the U.N., co-hosted by Saudi Arabia and France. The U.S. and Israel boycotted that event, but 142 countries backed the resolution on Friday. Only 10 nations voted against it—including Israel, the U.S., and a handful of others—while 12 abstained.
The vote comes just ahead of a September 22 gathering of world leaders, where Britain, France, Canada, Australia, and Belgium are expected to formally recognize a Palestinian state.
Condemnations on Both Sides
The declaration doesn’t mince words. It denounces Hamas for its October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, which killed 1,200 people and saw more than 250 hostages taken. But it also condemns Israel’s response—bombardments, blockades, and the destruction of civilian infrastructure in Gaza—that local health officials say has killed more than 64,000 people, most of them civilians.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot called the resolution historic, saying it marked the first time the U.N. explicitly condemned Hamas and demanded its disarmament.
Pushback from the U.S. and Israel
Despite broad international support—including from all Gulf Arab states—the U.S. and Israel strongly rejected the move.
Washington’s envoy, Morgan Ortagus, blasted the resolution as “a gift to Hamas,” arguing it would only prolong the war rather than help end it. Israel’s U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon went further, calling the vote “theater” and accusing the U.N. of advancing terrorism rather than peace.
Next Steps
The declaration urges that the war in Gaza “must end now” and calls for a temporary U.N.-mandated stabilization mission. Whether that will materialize remains uncertain, but the resolution reflects a growing global push to formalize Palestinian statehood while trying to hold both Hamas and Israel accountable for civilian suffering. Photo by Fars Media Corporation, Wikimedia commons.
