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United Nations General Assembly resolution 67/19 is a resolution regarding the admission of Palestine as a United Nations non-member state. It was adopted by the sixty-seventh session of the United Nations General Assembly on 29 November 2012, the date of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People (the anniversary of the date when the General Assembly adopted Resolution 181(II) on the Future Government of Palestine), thereby upgrading membership from non-member entity to non-member state. The resolution was proposed by Palestine's representative at the United Nations. Though strongly contested by the government of Israel, former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert expressed support for the measure. Though widely regarded as symbolic, the motion to adopt the resolution passed. The new status equates Palestine's with that of the Holy See.

Background

The sixty-sixth session of the United Nations General Assembly led to Fatah's Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas asking to join as a full member of the United Nations. However, the Palestine 194 initiative never went to a vote in the United Nations Security Council. Only eight of fifteen members had supported the measure, one less than the affirmative vote of nine members including the concurring votes of the permanent members required by Article 27 of the UN Charter. On 31 October 2011, the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) admitted Palestine as a member state. The decision took effect on 23 November 2011 when Palestine ratified the UNESCO constitution.

Content

The objective of the resolution is to accord an upgraded status to the Palestinian delegation and recognise its boundaries as they were prior to 1967:

Decides to accord to Palestine non-member observer State status in the United Nations, without prejudice to the acquired rights, privileges and role of the Palestine Liberation Organization in the United Nations as the representative of the Palestinian people, in accordance with the relevant resolutions and practice

— United Nations General Assembly resolution 67/19, Point 2

The reference "Palestine" is to the PLO, that up to this point had the status of UN non-state observer entity:

...the designation 'Palestine' should be used in place of the designation 'Palestine Liberation Organization' in the United Nations system, without prejudice to the observer status and functions of the Palestine Liberation Organization within the United Nations system

— United Nations General Assembly resolution 67/19, Recital 14

The government of the State of Palestine is identified as:

Taking into consideration that the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, in accordance with a decision by the Palestine National Council, is entrusted with the powers and responsibilities of the Provisional Government of the State of Palestine

— United Nations General Assembly resolution 67/19, Recital 15

The resolution also called for a need to return to negotiations in accordance with other initiatives and resolutions as expressed in the preamble to the resolution:

Expresses the urgent need for the resumption and acceleration of negotiations within the Middle East peace process based on the relevant United Nations resolutions, the terms of reference of the Madrid Conference, including the principle of land for peace, the Arab Peace Initiative and the Quartet road map to a permanent two-State solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for the achievement of a just, lasting and comprehensive peace settlement between the Palestinian and Israeli sides that resolves all outstanding core issues, namely the Palestine refugees, Jerusalem, settlements, borders, security and water

— United Nations General Assembly resolution 67/19, Point 5

Campaign

Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu said that the resolution would make the dream of a state of Palestine "more distant." He added: "The Palestinians must recognize the Jewish state, and they must be prepared to end the conflict with Israel once and for all. None of these vital interests, these vital interests of peace, none of them appear in the resolution that will be put forward before the General Assembly today, and that is why Israel cannot accept it." However, former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert wrote: "I believe that the Palestinian request from the United Nations is congruent with the basic concept of the two-state solution. Therefore, I see no reason to oppose it. Once the United Nations will lay the foundation for this idea, we in Israel will have to engage in a serious process of negotiations, in order to agree on specific borders based on the 1967 lines, and resolve the other issues. It is time to give a hand to, and encourage, the moderate forces amongst the Palestinians. Abu-Mazen [sic] and Salam Fayyad need our help. It's time to give it." Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said Israeli reaction would be measured by Palestine's reaction to the vote.

Hamas also backed the motion. PLO Executive Committee member Hanan Ashrawi said: "Israel, the United States and a handful of countries are on the wrong side of morality, the wrong side of justice and the wrong side of the law. begin a process of historical redemption and healing in Palestine."

The United States lobbied against the resolution being brought to the UNGA, while Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said that it was only exasperating the situation and that a vote would trigger "an extreme response from us." Furthermore, following Operation Pillar of Defense, and under pressure from the United States, Israel stopped its threats of punishment to Abbas for going ahead with the move to the UN. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Republican Senator Orrin Hatch warned against such a move, with Hatch introducing a motion to cut off financing to the UN if it passes. Lieberman also went to New York City to meet Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, while Ambassador Ron Prosor was scheduled to speak after Abbas. Indian Ambassador Hardeep Singh Puri said "if there is a poor turnout, a poor vote, the radicals gain," in expecting a high turnout to bolster Abbas' standing. There was a rally in support of the Palestinian bid in Tel Aviv's Rothschild Boulevard, which was organised by Gush Shalom, Peace Now, Hadash and Meretz. Former Foreign Ministry director Dr. Alon Liel said: "As of today there is a Palestinian state. As of today we no longer control the life of a nation but the life of a separate state." Former Meretz MK Mossi Raz said: "We call on Lieberman and Netanyahu: It's not too late. Order the ambassador to say 'Israel yes.'" Arab-Israeli singer Mira Awad also performed at the rally and said that she was "happy with Abbas' bid and very sad about the inexplicable refusal to finally give the Palestinian people a chance to move forward."

U.S. State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland said: "The resolution does nothing to get them (Palestinians) closer to statehood, and it may actually make the environment more difficult," while she also said that Deputy Secretary of State Bill Burns and U.S. Special Envoy for Middle East Peace David Hale met Abbas and told him of the U.S.' "very real concern" about the initiative. "We've been clear, we've been consistent with the Palestinians that we oppose observer state status in the General Assembly and this resolution. And the Deputy Secretary also reiterated that no one should be under any illusion that this resolution is going to produce the results that the Palestinians claim to seek, namely to have their own state living in peace next to Israel." However, Germany's Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle added that "the decisive steps" towards practical statehood needed negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians. "In our view there are doubts over whether the desired move by the Palestinians today is supportive for the peace process. We fear it could lead rather to a hardening of views." Netanyahu later downplayed the importance of the vote in saying that "the decision at the United Nations will change nothing on the ground. It will not advance the establishment of a Palestinian state. It will delay it further. No matter how many hands are raised against us there is no power on earth that will cause me to compromise on Israel's security."

Voting

The motion was proposed by Palestine's representative at the UN; By virtue of Article 18 of the UN Charter, the decision to approve the motion could be made by a majority of the members of the General Assembly present and voting. The motion was co-sponsored following a day of debate on 29 November 2012, including by Mahmoud Abbas, with the support of Afghanistan, Algeria, Argentina, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Brazil, Brunei, Chile, China, Comoros, Cuba, North Korea, Djibouti, Ecuador, Egypt, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Laos, Lebanon, Libya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Namibia, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Peru, Qatar, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Uruguay, Venezuela, Yemen and Zimbabwe. Prior to the actual vote more states added their names to list of co-sponsors: Angola, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belize, Grenada, Guinea, Kyrgyzstan, Niger, Sri Lanka, Suriname and Vietnam.

The U.K., Germany, Australia and Colombia abstained from the vote; notable Western supporters of the resolution included at least 15 European states such as Italy, France, Spain, Norway, Denmark, Switzerland, Greece, Malta, Ireland, and Austria. China and the IBSA states of Brazil and India supported the motion, along with the other BRICS state of Russia. Nigeria also supported the motion. United Kingdom said it would only support the motion on assurances of unconditional talk on final status issues. Meanwhile, Czech Republic opposed the measure. Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki added: "We are humbled by this historic support."

Debate

The President of the General Assembly Vuk Jeremić opened the day's debate saying the vote "would achieve what was envisaged in 1947, a two-state solution," while he also expressed hope of a return to bilateral negotiations. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said before the vote that the odds of a "two-state solution seems ever more distant" and that "leaders must show a sense of historic responsibility and vision. Israelis and Palestinians must break out of a zero-sum mentality, and embrace a peaceful path forward." Sudan introduced the bill; other speakers included: Palestine's Mahmoud Abbas, Israel's Ron Prosor, Indonesia's Marty Natalegawa, Canada's John Baird, Turkey's Ahmet Davutoglu and 67th UNGA President Vuk Jeremić. Abbas told the delegates "to issue a birth certificate of the reality of the State of Palestine." He also denounced the recently passed Operation Pillar of Defense for the death toll of Palestinians and the infrastructure damage it wrought in Gaza, called the Nakba modern ethnic cleansing and rebuked Israel for failing to "save the peace process," as well as military strikes and settler attacks which were a part of Israel colonizing Palestine. He added that the Palestinian delegation did not seek to delegitimise "a country created here many years ago" but to save the peace process and that the Palestinians would not accept anything less than independence and sovereignty with east Jerusalem as the national capital, all pre-1967 territories and a right of return for refugee.

Result

Following the debate from UN ambassadors and state leaders, a vote was held in the United Nations General Assembly Chamber at about 17:00. After the resolution was approved, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu went up and gave Abbas a hug. Secretary-General Ban-ki Moon then briefly spoke. Several states then spoke from their seats to explain their vote: United States, France, Singapore, United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Bulgaria, Serbia, Honduras, Denmark, Italy, Greece, Hungary, Czech Republic, Finland, Australia, New Zealand, Norway, Tanzania, South Sudan, Netherlands, Japan, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Spain, Mexico, Georgia, Jamaica, Russia (called for restraint in reactions), Papua New Guinea, South Korea, Romania, Portugal, Mauritius. Other states continued to speak from the podium: Iran (on behalf of the Non Aligned Movement), European Union (whose statement was adhered to by other European countries not in the EU), Djibouti (on behalf of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation), China, Kuwait, Nigeria, South Africa, the UAE, Brazil, Cuba, Venezuela, Malaysia, Syria, Morocco.

Reactions

In Palestine

There were celebrations in the West Bank and Gaza with people waving the Fatah and Hamas flags respectively.

In Israel

In retaliation for the statehood vote, Israel authorized the construction of 3,000 houses in a Palestinian area of East Jerusalem. Palestinians charged that the development of houses in the area is designed to cut the West Bank in two, preventing the creation of a Palestinian state.

The media equated the measure with the ability to join such international organisations as the International Criminal Court and speculated Palestine could make Israel accountable by international law. Meanwhile Israel threatened repercussions such as financial penalties, which include holding back tax revenue it collects in Palestine for the Palestinian Authority, as it had done in the past.

Hamas leader Khaled Meshal called for a national unity government through a new P.L.O. election so as to renew the mandate and legitimacy of the organisation "on a correct basis that includes all Palestinian forces." Similarly, the New York Times quoted an unnamed affiliate of the P.L.O. as suggesting a possible leadership role for Meshal in the organisation following a nomination by Abbas or a Palestine Central Council election.

See also

• International recognition of the State of Palestine

References

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27. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/A851fHTCMAIW8Xg.jpg:large
28. Palestinians celebrate status upgrade at UN - Middle East - Al Jazeera English
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