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India, 141 others vote in favour of Hamas-free Palestinian state in UNGA
India was among the 142 countries which voted in favour of the declaration, while 10 countries voted against it and 12 decided to abstain from voting.
The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) voted on Friday to back the “New York Declaration”, which seeks a two-state solution for the long-standing conflict between Israel and Palestine but without the involvement of Hamas, which currently controls the Gaza strip.
India was among the 142 countries which voted in favour of the declaration, while 10 countries voted against it and 12 decided to abstain from voting. The United States and Israel were among the countries which voted against the declaration.
Reacting to the voting, Israel said a "disgraceful" vote by the UN General Assembly in favour of a Hamas-free Palestinian state would encourage the militant group to continue the Gaza war.
The text, which is formally called ‘New York Declaration on the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State solution’ was endorsed and co-signed by 17 UN member states in July this year.
The declaration seeks to bring peace, security, and stability in the middle-east, which has been riddled with consistent regional conflict for around two years now, ever since the war between Israel and Hamas erupted on October 7, 2023. However, it also clearly condemns Hamas and demands it to surrender its weapons.
The votes comes ahead of the UN summit scheduled for September 22 in New York, which will be co-chaired by Riyadh and Paris. In that summit, French President Emmanuel Macron has promised to formally recognize the Palestinian state.
What does the New York Declaration say?
The declaration calls for a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine “to build a better future for Palestinians, Israelis and all peoples of the region.”
The text condemns Hamas for its attack on Israeli civilians on October 7, 2023, and taking hostages and also calls the “forced displacement of the Palestinian civilian population” a “flagrant violation of International humanitarian law". It also condemns attacks by Israel against civilians in Gaza.
The declaration calls for Hamas to release all Israeli hostages and also full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.
“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 text reads.
However, to achieve a peaceful two-state solution, the text also asks Hamas to “end its rule in Gaza and hand over its weapons to the Palestinian Authority”.
