GAZA: The United Nations General Assembly on Friday overwhelmingly supported the New York Declaration advocating for a two-state solution between Palestine and Israel ahead of the global leaders’ summit in New York. The resolution was adopted with 142 votes in favor, 10 against, and 12 abstentions. It emphasizes “specific, time-bound, and irreversible steps” for implementing the two-state solution. The resolution condemns Israeli attacks on civilians in Gaza, urban infrastructure, the blockade, and the creation of hunger, while also denouncing Hamas’s attacks on October 7, 2023. It calls for an immediate end to the war in Gaza. This seven-page statement is the result of an international conference held in July at the UN, hosted by Saudi Arabia and France, aimed at addressing the Israel-Palestine conflict and outlining a path for its resolution. The recognition of Palestine as a state is a key focus of this year’s annual UN General Assembly session in New York. A joint meeting of France and Saudi Arabia is set to finalize the list of countries that recognize Palestine. Leaders from various nations will officially announce their positions during the “General Debate” sessions from September 23 to 29. It is noteworthy that Emmanuel Macron, the President of France, announced at the end of July that his country would recognize Palestine at this year’s General Assembly. Following this, over 12 Western countries have indicated they will follow Paris’s lead. France and Saudi Arabia co-chaired the two-state solution conference last June, which garnered widespread global consensus on the need for a “just” resolution to the Palestinian conflict and condemned the “acts of hunger in Gaza.”
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