On Friday, May 10th, the United Nations General Assembly convened an emergency special session in New York to address the Gaza crisis. The overwhelming majority of 193 member states approved a resolution granting Palestine “additional rights and special privileges” within the United Nations. The resolution also urged the Security Council to “actively consider” Palestine’s membership request.
With a vote of 143 in favor, 9 against, and 25 abstentions, the resolution proposed by the Arab League and Palestine was passed. The United States, Israel, Argentina, Czech Republic, Hungary, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, and Papua New Guinea voted against it.
The global support for Palestine becoming a full-fledged UN member was evident in the voting results, fueled by growing concerns over the rising death toll in Gaza and fears of a large-scale Israeli assault on the southern city of Rafah.
The resolution recognizes that “Palestine qualifies to be a UN member state and should be admitted as a member.”
Starting from the next session in September of this year, the resolution grants Palestine certain “additional rights and special privileges,” including seating in alphabetical order among member states, the ability to speak on all issues and not just those related to Palestine and the Middle East.
Furthermore, the resolution allows Palestine to propose agendas and respond to debates, as well as serve on main committees of the UN General Assembly. It also permits Palestinians to participate in international conferences convened by the UN and other organizations, albeit without voting rights.
This marks a significant elevation of diplomatic influence for Palestine within the entire UN system.
However, despite the special status granted by the resolution, it reaffirms that Palestine remains a non-member observer state without voting rights at UN meetings.
The United States has explicitly stated that it will not recognize Palestine’s statehood or support its membership until a two-state solution is reached through direct negotiations with Israel, addressing key issues like security, borders, and the future of Jerusalem. Their Deputy Ambassador, Robert Wood, emphasized the need for negotiations ensuring Israel’s security and the peaceful livelihood of Palestinians.
According to the UN Charter, aspiring UN member states must “love peace” and have their applications reviewed by the Security Council before final approval by the General Assembly.
Wood reiterated that the US sees the Friday’s resolution as an attempt to circumvent the Charter’s provisions.
Before the vote, Palestinian Ambassador to the UN, Riyad Mansour, stated in the Assembly that the Gaza war had resulted in devastating effects. He expressed that Palestinians in Gaza were pushed ‘to the edge of life’ as Israel besieged Rafah.
Mansour accused Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu of preparing to “kill tens of thousands to ensure his political life”.
Israeli Ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, strongly opposed the resolution, accusing member states of ignoring Hamas’ attacks in southern Israel on October 7th and attempting to “reward modern-day Nazi perpetrators with rights and privileges,” welcoming a terrorist state into the UN fold.
He mentioned that Hamas controls Gaza and some areas in the West Bank, highlighting Hamas leader Yehya Sinwar’s open goal of “ethnic cleansing against Jews.”
Erdan stated, “Today you must choose between weakness and combating terrorism.”
Erdan added that the UN was appeasing “brutal dictators” and dishonoring the UN Charter, with this disgrace being etched into history.
Lastly, Erdan symbolically shred the cover of the UN Charter with a portable shredder.
Three Western diplomats informed the Associated Press that the initial draft of the resolution underwent significant changes. The first draft aimed to grant Palestine “necessary rights and privileges to ensure their full and effective participation in UN affairs,” and “equality with member states.”
The diplomats revealed that China and Russia are staunch supporters of Palestine’s UN membership, but they were concerned that the initial draft might set a precedent for Kosovo and Taiwan to follow a similar path to engage with the UN.
As per US legislation, granting formal membership to Palestine would result in a cut in funding to UN agencies.
The final draft of the resolution eliminated the phrase granting Palestine “equal status with member states.”
The approved resolution also included an additional provision in the annex clarifying that it did not grant Palestine voting rights at the General Assembly.
Palestine first applied for UN membership in 2011 but was unsuccessful due to insufficient support from the Security Council.
At that time, Palestine also applied to the UN General Assembly, where by a two-thirds majority vote, it transitioned from being a UN observer state to a non-member observer state, paving the way for Palestine’s potential entry into the UN and other international organizations like the International Criminal Court.