The United Nations General Assembly will vote Friday on a resolution intended to revive hopes for a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine — and, for the first time, without the shadow of Hamas, according to Arab News.
The measure, formally called the New York Declaration on the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution, was introduced by France and Saudi Arabia. It demands that Hamas release all hostages from the October 7, 2023 attacks and bluntly condemns the group’s assault on civilians.
But the declaration goes further than censure. It insists that Hamas relinquish its rule in Gaza, disarm, and transfer authority to the Palestinian Authority, under international supervision, paving the way for a sovereign Palestinian state.
The initiative arrives as Gaza endures its second year of devastating war and amid the steady growth of Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Israel’s leadership has rejected the very premise of a Palestinian state. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed Thursday: “We are going to fulfill our promise that there will be no Palestinian state.”
Still, momentum is building abroad. The Arab League has endorsed the text, and 17 UN member states co-signed it in July. French President Emmanuel Macron, who will co-chair a UN summit on September 22 with Saudi officials, has promised to formally recognize Palestine — a step other world leaders are expected to echo.
For Western and Arab states that have long backed Palestinian rights while facing criticism for silence on Hamas, the declaration marks a turning point. “The fact that the General Assembly is finally backing a text that condemns Hamas directly is significant,” said Richard Gowan, UN Director at the International Crisis Group. “It offers a shield against Israeli criticism.”
The resolution also outlines the possible deployment of a temporary UN-mandated stabilization mission in Gaza, designed to aid civilians and transition security responsibilities to the Palestinian Authority.
Roughly three-quarters of the UN’s 193 members already recognize Palestine, declared in exile in 1988. Yet with Gaza shattered, the West Bank fragmented, and Israel openly declaring annexation plans, many fear the window for a viable state is closing.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas may not even be present to press the case: U.S. authorities have signaled they will deny him a visa to attend the upcoming summit in New York.
