The UN General Assembly has voted by a wide margin to grant new “rights and privileges” to Palestinian representatives and called on the Security Council to favourably reconsider their request to have a Palestinian state become the 194th member of the United Nations.
Canada abstained from the vote. In a statement, Global Affairs Canada said it did so in favour of a two-state solution — a Palestinian state in the occupied West Bank and in Gaza alongside Israel.
“It is clear we must urgently build a credible path to achieving the two-state solution, one that gives hope to both Palestinians and Israelis that they may live side by side in peace, security and dignity,” the statement read. “That process cannot indefinitely delay the creation of a Palestinian state.
“Canada is prepared to recognize the state of Palestine at the time most conducive to lasting peace, not necessarily as the last step along that path.”
The renewed push for full Palestinian membership in the UN comes as the war in Gaza has put the more than 75-year-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict centre stage. At numerous council and assembly meetings, the humanitarian crisis facing the Palestinians in Gaza and the killing of more than 34,900 people in the territory, according to Gaza health officials, have generated outrage from many member states.
The United States has used its position as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council to veto a Palestinian request for full membership into the United Nations. The final tally of the vote was 12 in favour, two abstentions and one against.
More to come.
