The UN General Assembly recognized on Thursday the Palestinian Authority (PA) as a non-member observer state.
The Palestinian bid, submitted by President Mahmoud Abbas, was approved by 138 UN members, while nine voted against it and 41 abstained from voting.
The move amounts to an implicit recognition of the Palestinian statehood and increases PA’s chances of joining other UN bodies. It also allows the Palestinian Authority to challenge the continuing construction of Israeli settlements on the occupied Palestinian land in the International Criminal Court.
The PA, which earlier enjoyed a “permanent observer” status at the UN, now joins the Vatican as the only other entity with non-member observer state status.
Abbas submitted Palestine’s official application for recognition as an independent state in the UN in September 2011. That bid was blocked by a US veto in the Security Council.
These are the countries who voted against the resolution:
- EE.UU.
- Israel
- Canadá
- República Checa
- Islas Marshall
- Micronesia
- Nauru
- Palau
- Panamá
Via PL