The New York Declaration is the result of an international conference held in July at the UN Headquarters, organized by France and Saudi Arabia, which resumes at the end of this month.
The General Assembly includes all 193 UN Member States and 142 countries voted in favor of a resolution that supports the document.
Israel voted against, along with nine other countries: Argentina, Hungary, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Tonga and the United States, while 12 nations abstained.
‘Roadmap’ for the future
Before the vote, the French ambassador Jérôme Bonnafont recalled that the New York Declaration “establishes a single road map to deliver the solution of two states.”
This implies a high immediate fire in Gaza, the release of all hostages held there, and the establishment of a Palestinian state that is viable and sovereign.
The road map also demands the disarmament of Hamas and its exclusion from governance in Gaza, normalization between Israel and Arab countries, as well as collective security guarantees.
Speaking before the vote, Israeli ambassador Danny Danon said that “this unilateral statement will not be remembered as a step towards peace, only as another hollow gesture that weakens the credibility of this assembly.”
He said that “Hamas is the biggest winner of any support today” and will declare it “the fruit of October 7”.
The High Level International Conference in July was held in the context of the War in Gaza and deteriorated the prospects for the solution of two states.
In comments to the Opening segment, the UN Secretary General, António Guterres, said that “the central question for the peace of the Middle East is the implementation of the solution of two states, where two independent, sovereign and democratic states, Israel and Palestine, live from side to side in peace and security.”