The UN General Assembly symbolically votes in favor of Palestinian membership, prevented by the United States’ veto

The text, adopted by an overwhelming majority on Friday, grants a series of “additional rights and privileges” to the Palestinians. But, in the absence of agreement from the United States at the Security Council in mid-April, it does not open the way to full membership.

A symbolic vote, which angered Israel. An overwhelming majority of the UN General Assembly ruled on Friday, May 10, that Palestine deserves full membership in the organization – a membership blocked by the United States in April.

“I have stood at this podium hundreds of times, often in tragic circumstances, but none comparable to what my people are experiencing today”launched the Palestinian ambassador to the UN, Riyad Mansour.

The latter greeted “a historic vote”Hamas for its part seeing the “reaffirmation of international solidarity with our people”. “The message the UN is sending to a region filled with pain is: violence pays”denounced on Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz.

“It’s time to work towards a two-state solution”for his part pleaded, on this same social networkthe French ambassador to the United Nations, Nicolas de Rivière, who voted for this resolution.

An American veto

Faced with the war in Gaza, the Palestinians, who since 2012 have had a status “non-member observer state”had relaunched at the beginning of April their 2011 request demanding to become a full member state of the United Nations.

To succeed, such an initiative requires, before a vote by the General Assembly, a positive recommendation from the Security Council. But the United States vetoed it on April 18. Even if the General Assembly cannot bypass the Council, the Palestinians have decided to turn to its 193 member states, thus proving that, without the American veto, they would have the two-thirds majority necessary to validate membership.

The resolution presented by the United Arab Emirates was thus adopted by 143 votes in favor, 9 against (United States, Israel, Hungary, Czech Republic, Argentina, Palau, Nauru, Micronesia, Papua New Guinea) and 25 abstentions (notably Canada, the United Kingdom and many members of a divided European Union, such as Germany and Italy).

The text grants without delay “exceptionally and without this constituting a precedent”a series of “additional rights and privileges” to the Palestinians from the 79th session of the Assembly in September. They will be able, for example, to submit proposals and amendments directly, without going through a third country, or to sit among the member states in alphabetical order.