New York: The United Nations General Assembly has overwhelmingly endorsed a resolution calling for the revival of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, just a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed there would never be a Palestinian state.
The ‘New York Declaration’, drafted by France and Saudi Arabia, was adopted on Friday by 142 votes in favour, 10 against, including Israel and the United States, and 12 abstentions.
The seven-page resolution lays out tangible, time-bound, and irreversible steps towards establishing an independent Palestinian state and ending the war in Gaza.
The document calls for collective international action to secure a just, peaceful, and lasting settlement and instructs Hamas to release all hostages, end its rule in Gaza, and hand over its weapons to the Palestinian Authority.
Palestine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed the move, praising Saudi-French efforts to create an actionable plan for Palestinian statehood. The ministry urged international partners to activate all mechanisms to end the Israeli colonial occupation and safeguard the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people.
#BREAKING
UN General Assembly ADOPTS resolution endorsing the New York Declaration on the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State SolutionVoting result
In favor: 142
Against: 10
Abstain: 12 pic.twitter.com/38ilC20OYL— UN News (@UN_News_Centre) September 12, 2025
The resolution also sets the stage for a September 22 summit in New York, co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia. French President Emmanuel Macron and other European leaders, including those from Spain, Ireland, Norway and the United Kingdom, are expected to formally recognise Palestine at the meeting. Currently, 146 UN member states already support recognition.
Israel denounced the outcome, with Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oren Marmorstein dismissing the resolution as a disgraceful display. He accused the General Assembly of acting as a political circus detached from reality and criticised the text for not designating Hamas as a terrorist organisation.
Netanyahu, who only a day earlier approved a major settlement expansion plan in the West Bank, has repeatedly argued that a Palestinian state would endanger Israel’s security.
Watch the moment the General Assembly overwhelmingly voted to endorse the New York Declaration on the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution.
The world chooses peace.
Palestine chooses peace. pic.twitter.com/U91yVEuCJc— State of Palestine (@Palestine_UN) September 12, 2025
The vote came at the end of a week of heightened Israeli military action across the Middle East. Israel carried out deadly strikes not only in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, but also in Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Tunisia, and Qatar.
On Thursday, Israel launched a controversial strike in Doha, killing five senior Hamas figures who were engaged in talks mediated by Qatar. The attack drew sharp condemnation at the UN Security Council, with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani accusing Israel of arrogance and deliberately sabotaging mediation efforts.
Even as the vote was cast in New York, Gaza endured relentless bombardment. On Friday alone, 59 people were killed, according to local health authorities.
