India votes in favor of UNGA resolution on Palestine, endorsed two-state solution, US opposed
By Anjali Sharma
UNITED NATIONS – India on Friday voted in favor of a resolution in the UNGA that endorses the “New York Declaration” on peaceful settlement of the Palestine issue and implementation of the two-state solution.
The resolution backed the “New York Declaration” was approved by the UN General Assembly with India among the 142 countries voted in support.
The resolution was supported by 142 countries and opposed by 10, while 12 abstained.
India has long been supporting the two-state solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
New Delhi has consistently adopted the policy of supporting a sovereign, independent, and viable State of Palestine living peacefully alongside a secure State of Israel within recognized borders.
Israel voted against it, alongside nine other countries – Argentina, Hungary, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Tonga and the United States – while 12 nations abstained.
French Ambassador Jérôme Bonnafont recalled that the New York Declaration “lays out a single roadmap to deliver the two-State solution”.
This involves an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, release of all hostages held there, and the establishment of a Palestinian State that is both viable and sovereign.
The roadmap calls for the disarmament of Hamas and its exclusion from governance in Gaza, normalization between Israel and the Arab countries, as well as collective security guarantees.
Israeli Ambassador Danny Danon said that “this one-sided Declaration will not be remembered as a step toward peace, only as another hollow gesture that weakens this Assembly’s credibility.”
He said that “Hamas is the biggest winner of any endorsement here today” and will declare it “the fruit of 7 October”.
The high-level international conference in July was held against the backdrop of the war in Gaza and deteriorating prospects for the two-State solution.
UN chief Antonio Guterres noted that “the central question for Middle East peace is implementation of the two-State solution, where two independent, sovereign, democratic States – Israel and Palestine – live side-by-side in peace and security.”
French President Emmanuel Macron said, “Today, under the impetus of France and Saudi Arabia, 142 countries have adopted the New York Declaration on the implementation of the two-State solution, after the approval of the France and Saudi Arabia backed “New York Resolution”, Together, we are charting an irreversible path toward peace in the Middle East.”
US has been supporting Israel in its war in Gaza, opposed the resolution, called it a “publicity stunt” that only rewards Hamas.
US Mission to the United States described its opposition to the General Assembly vote said that the voting on New York Declaration was “misguided” and that it “undercuts the very diplomatic efforts to free the hostages and end the suffering in Gaza.”
“General Assembly action on the New York Declaration is yet another misguided and ill-timed publicity stunt that undermines serious diplomatic efforts to end the conflict. Make no mistake – this resolution is a gift to Hamas. It is likewise cynical, transparently driven by the domestic politics rather than a serious foreign policy agenda,” the US Mission said in a statement.
It added, “Today’s resolution is yet another counterproductive gesture that only rewards Hamas, drags out the war, and undercuts the very diplomatic efforts to free the hostages and end the suffering in Gaza, which the New York Declaration claims to support.”
