India Joins 142 Countries In Favour Of UNGA Palestine Resolution Endorsing Two-State Solution

 

 

New Delhi : India and 141 other countries on Friday voted in favour of a resolution in the UN General Assembly that endorses the ‘New York Declaration' on peaceful settlement of the Palestine issue and implementation of the two-state solution.

 

The UNGA voted overwhelmingly to support the two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict and urged Israel to commit to a Palestinian state, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vehemently opposes. The 193-member world body approved the nonbinding resolution, which sets out a phased plan to end the nearly 80-year conflict. The resolution, introduced by France, was adopted with 142 nations voting in favour, 10 against and 12 abstentions.

 

Those voting against included Argentina, Hungary, Israel and the US. India was among the nations that voted in favour of the resolution titled ‘Endorsement of the New York Declaration on the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution’.

 

The resolution was sponsored by France and Saudi Arabia, who co-chaired a high-level conference on implementing a two-state solution in late July, where the declaration was approved. The declaration was circulated at a high-level international conference held in July at the UN headquarters and co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia. In the declaration, the leaders “agreed to take collective action to end the war in Gaza, to achieve a just, peaceful and lasting settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict based on the effective implementation of the two-state solution, and to build a better future for Palestinians, Israelis and all peoples of the region”.

 

The declaration called on the Israeli leadership to issue a clear public commitment to the two-state solution, including a sovereign, and viable Palestinian State. It also called on Israel to "immediately end violence and incitement against Palestinians, to immediately halt all settlement, land grabs and annexation activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, publicly renounce any annexation project or settlement policy, and put an end to settlers’ violence".

 

It also reaffirmed "support for the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination". “Recent developments have highlighted, once again, and more than ever, the terrifying human toll and the grave implications for regional and international peace and security of the persistence of the Middle East conflict,” the declaration said. “Absent decisive measures towards the two-state solution and robust international guarantees, the conflict will deepen and regional peace will remain elusive,” it added. Asserting that “the war in Gaza must end now”, the declaration further said that, “Gaza is an integral part of a Palestinian State and must be unified with the West Bank.

 

There must be no occupation, siege, territorial reduction, or forced displacement.” The declaration urged countries to recognise the state of Palestine, calling this “an essential and indispensable component of the achievement of the two-state solution.” Without naming Israel but clearly referring to it, the document says “illegal unilateral actions are posing an existential threat to the realisation of the independent state of Palestine.”