The UN General Assembly has adopted a resolution that will allow Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to address the body via video link. This decision followed Washington’s move to deny or revoke visas for President Abbas and nearly 80 other senior officials, preventing them from attending the UNGA in New York. However, Palestine will still be represented in the chamber by its UN ambassador.
The resolution was adopted with 145 votes in favor, five against—including the United States and Israel—and six abstentions. Four of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council—Britain, China, France, and Russia—supported the resolution. Several close U.S. allies, including Germany, Belgium, and Saudi Arabia, also voted in favor.
New Title: Palestine’s Participation and Anticipated State Recognition
The resolution ensures Palestine’s “meaningful participation” by allowing its president or senior representatives to deliver pre-recorded statements during the general debate, high-level conferences, and other UN meetings. Saudi Arabia and France will co-chair meetings starting Monday on the Israeli and Palestinian two-state solution, which aims for both sides to exist peacefully alongside each other.
About 10 countries, including France, Australia, Belgium, Britain, and Canada, are expected to formally recognize an independent Palestinian state next week. This move follows the overwhelming adoption last week by the General Assembly of a text supporting a future Palestinian state, albeit without Hamas. These countries state that these steps are intended to pressure Israel to end its assault on Gaza, curb the building of new Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, and recommit to a peace process with the Palestinians.
All eyes will be on U.S. President Donald Trump, who has initiated massive cuts to U.S. foreign aid since his return to the White House. Israel’s main ally has long maintained that it will only recognize a Palestinian state after a “two-state solution” is agreed upon by both the Palestinians and Israel.
