On Friday, May 10th, at a meeting about the situation in Gaza, there was a vote to upgrade “Palestine’s” status to be an Observer State without offering full membership. 8 countries in addition to Israel including the United States, Argentina, the Czech Republic, Hungary and others stood firmly with Israel and opposed the resolution. 25 countries gave a quiet show of support for Israel abstaining. 143 countries voted in favor of the resolution. The resolution does not mean that a Palestinian State now exists. It means that starting September 10th, the “State of Palestine” will have the right to participate fully in UN sessions, but will not have the right to vote. While it does show favor towards a Palestinian state existing, it does not recognize such a state. As is known, there are no clear borders or leaders to the theoretical state, so the resolution is limited in its impact in reality. The United Nations General Assembly vote is primarily symbolic.
While shredding the UN charter, Erdan explained, “You have opened up the United Nations to modern-day Nazis, to genocidal jihadists committed to establishing an Islamic State across Israel and the region, murdering every Jewish man, woman and child. It makes me sick. So today, I will hold up a mirror for you. This is your mirror so that you can see exactly what you are inflicting upon the UN charter with this destructive vote. You are shredding the UN charter with your own hands. That’s what you are doing. Shame on you.”
Since before the State of Israel existed, there has been a general conception that the two-state solution is the best way to peacefully resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict. Over the years, however, the Arabs have consistently rejected any proposal and have attacked Israel in wars or with terror. While Israel has historically been willing to support a two-state solution, there is a consensus in Israel today that a Palestinian State should not be established in the wake of the October 7th attack. The Israeli Foreign Ministry stated, “The decision to upgrade the status of Palestinians in the UN is a prize for Hamas terrorists after they committed the largest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust and perpetrated the most heinous sexual crimes the world has seen.”
The US clarified that their vote does not reflect an opposition to Palestinian Statehood. Deputy US Ambassador to the UN Robert Wood told the General Assembly that the US vote against the resolution, “is an acknowledgment that statehood will only come from a process that involves direct negotiations.”
Nevertheless, Erdan’s powerful speech and 34 countries refusing to vote in favor of recognizing a Palestinian State at UN proceedings sends a powerful message to the international community.
Leah Bowman is a licensed guide in Israel and is currently completing an MA in Political Science at Bar Ilan University.
By Leah Bowman
