Australia joins 142 nations in backing Palestinian statehood in UN vote
By Matthew Knott and Rachel Clun
Australia has joined 142 other countries in backing Palestinian statehood in a high-profile United Nations vote, breaking with some of its closest security partners and infuriating Israel.
The United Nations General Assembly resolution, which passed overwhelmingly overnight on Friday, declared that “the State of Palestine is qualified for membership in the United Nations” under its charter rules.
The UN resolution was supported by 143 nations with nine voting against and 25 abstaining.Credit: YouTube/United Nations
Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the vote was not about whether Australia recognised Palestine as a state but about showing “unwavering support” for a two-state solution.
“This resolution that we have supported is about long-term peace and security for both Israelis and Palestinians, and I truly believe that the only path to securing peace and security for Israel is with the establishment of two states,” she said on Sunday morning following the vote.
“Australia has long believed that a two-state solution offers the only hope of breaking this endless cycle of violence, and the only hope of achieving lasting peace.”
The vote confers additional rights on Palestine at the world body, allowing it to take part fully in debates, propose agenda items and have its representatives elected to committees.
Israel’s UN ambassador Gilad Erdan theatrically inserted a miniature copy of the UN charter into a transparent paper shredder.Credit: YouTube/United Nations
It will not, however, be able to vote in the General Assembly after the United States used its veto power in the Security Council last month to block a bid for full Palestinian membership of the UN.
In a day of high emotion at UN headquarters in New York, Israel’s UN ambassador Gilad Erdan said that the global community had rewarded Hamas for its October 7 terror attacks, which led to 1200 deaths.
Erdan said the UN had “opened up the United Nations to modern-day Nazis, to genocidal jihadists committed to establishing an Islamic state across Israel and the region, murdering every Jewish man, woman and child”.
“It makes me sick,” he said, saying the vote set a precedent for terror groups such as ISIS or Boko Haram to sit at the UN.
Declaring that the nations supporting the resolution had shredded the UN charter, Erdan theatrically inserted a miniature copy of the UN charter into a transparent paper shredder during his speech.
The resolution “reaffirms the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, including the right to their independent State of Palestine”.
It was supported by 143 nations with nine voting against and 25 abstaining.
Asked to respond to Israel’s argument that the General Assembly resolution rewarded Hamas, Wong said it was the opposite of what Hamas wants.
“The resolution itself is very clear about the existence of two states, security and peace for both Palestinians and Israelis,” she said.
“Hamas does not want two states. It is a terrorist organisation dedicated to the destruction of Israel and of the Jewish people. That is why they are condemned, and they must be condemned.”
Wong said many of Australia’s regional partners voted yes, including New Zealand, Japan, Indonesia, Singapore and South Korea.
However, Australia’s yes vote contrasted with its AUKUS partners the United States and United Kingdom, which voted no and abstained respectively.
Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong has been laying the groundwork for a yes vote on such a resolution over the past month. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
This mirrored the outcome of a December vote calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the war in Gaza.
The result underlies the growing strength of the Palestinian cause within Labor, which abstained from voting on a 2012 resolution granting Palestine observer status at the UN but has since incorporated support for Palestinian statehood into its policy platform.
Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham said the Labor government’s support for the resolution risks harming long-term peace prospects and sends a “shameful message” that violence and terrorism work to get results.
“By advancing the wishes of terrorists while securing nothing in return this vote has reduced the incentive for parties to negotiate and increased the risks of future attacks or bloodshed,” he said in a statement.
“The Coalition wants the tragic loss of innocent lives to end, but this approach will not achieve that. We remain committed to a genuine negotiated two-state solution.”
Birmingham said Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been misleading Australians for months by saying Australia’s position had not changed.
Wong began laying the groundwork for supporting such a resolution last month in a speech emphasising the case for Palestinian statehood separate to a final peace settlement with Israel.
Australia’s Ambassador to the UN, James Larsen, told the General Assembly: “Australia has long believed a two-state solution offers the only hope for breaking the endless cycle of violence and achieving lasting peace.
“Like many member states, Australia has been frustrated by the lack of progress.
“There is a role for the international community to build momentum, [and] set expectations that parties resumed negotiations for tangible progress and to support efforts for a political process.”
Larsen stressed that the resolution “does not provide membership of the United Nations and retains the status of the permanent observer mission with a modest extension of additional rights”.
The vote came as the war in Gaza entered its eighth month, with Israel expanding ground operations in the southern city of Rafah and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowing that Israel would fight with its “fingernails” if necessary after the US withheld a delivery of bombs.
Palestinian ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour addresses the UN General Assembly.Credit: AP
Palestinian ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour said that a “yes vote is a vote for Palestinian existence – it is not against any state, but it is against the attempts to deprive us of our state”.
“It is an investment in peace and thus empowers the forces of peace,” he said.
“Our right to self-determination, to independent statehood, to membership of these United Nations, cannot be subject to an Israeli veto … They are not up for negotiations; they are our inherent rights.”
Australian government sources, speaking on background ahead of the vote, said a watered-down version of the original motion circulated by the United Arab Emirates contained major concessions by the Palestinians and Arab nations.
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