UN General Assembly two-state solution

Washington (dpa) — The UN General Assembly on Friday endorsed a document calling for a two-state solution to the war in the Gaza Strip and an end to Hamas control of the war-ravaged territory.

A total of 142 countries supported the motion, with 10 votes against, including the US and Israel, and 12 abstentions.

The vote took place ahead of a meeting on the issue on September 22 before the UN General Debate, for which French President Emmanuel Macron has announced his country’s official recognition of Palestine as a state.

It was the second session of the UN General Assembly and the first vote under the leadership of the new president and former German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock.

“In the context of ending the war in Gaza, Hamas must end its rule in Gaza and hand over its weapons to the Palestinian Authority, with international engagement and support,” states the document, also condemning the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.

The seven-page New York Declaration was drafted at the end of July at a UN conference hosted by France and Saudi Arabia.

At the time, a group of 17 countries, including Britain, Canada, Brazil and Jordan, signed the paper. Israel and its closest ally, the United States, boycotted the event and sharply criticized it.

The paper is to be understood as a roadmap for resolving the Middle East conflict in the sense of two coexisting states – Israel and Palestine.

“The war in Gaza must end now,” it says, referring to one of the prerequisites for the two-state solution, to which it stresses Israel must clearly commit itself.

In addition, the country’s military actions, especially in the Gaza Strip, are condemned.

The army must withdraw from the coastal area, and a ceasefire and the release of Israeli hostages are needed. Settlement activities in the West Bank by Israeli settlers must also end.