UN General Assembly adopts resolution endorsing New York Declaration on two-state solution

WASHINGTON

The UN General Assembly on Friday adopted a resolution endorsing the New York Declaration, which seeks to recognize a Palestinian state and advance a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The resolution, formally titled the “Endorsement of the New York Declaration on the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution,” passed with 142 votes in favor, 10 against and 12 abstentions.

Introduced by France and Saudi Arabia, the declaration had already been co-signed by 17 member states during an international conference held at UN headquarters in New York in July.

The text outlines a roadmap for peace, including an immediate cease-fire in Gaza, the release of hostages, the disarmament of Hamas and its exclusion from governance in Gaza, the normalization of ties between Israel and Arab states, and “collective action to end the war in Gaza”.

“This declaration stems from the work that took place during the conference from 28-30 July, 2025 in New York, and it was drafted in collaboration with the 17 co-chairs of the working groups,” said Jerome Bonnafont, France’s Permanent Representative to the UN. “This declaration lays out a single roadmap to deliver the two-state solution.

Mansour thanked all countries that supported the declaration, adding: “For those who want peace, come and join us. For those who want to save lives, come and join us. For those who want to save lives, come and join us.”

Israel and the US opposed the resolution. Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon said: “Endorsement of this so-called declaration is not a serious attempt at peacemaking.”

US representative Morgan Ortagus said the text “undermines serious diplomatic efforts to end the conflict,” adding it had “emboldened Hamas and harmed the prospects of peace.”

Welcoming the decision, Hussein al-Sheikh, Palestine’s deputy president, said: “This decision reflects the international will in support of our people’s rights and constitutes an important step toward ending the occupation and realizing our independent state along the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.”

In a post on the US social media company X, he said: “The growing international recognition of the State of Palestine represents a fundamental pillar for consolidating our people’s right to self-determination, safeguarding the two-state solution, and ensuring regional and international security and stability.”

Meanwhile, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry also welcomed the vote, noting that this resolution is the “first of the General Assembly in its 80th session.”

The ministry praised “the role of all countries that sponsored, supported, and voted in favor of the resolution, so that the New York Declaration becomes an official UN document.”

It also called for “implementing the outcomes of the international conference on the two-state solution, exerting pressure on Israel – the illegal occupying power – to halt its aggression, cease fire, end the famine it is using as a weapon of war, prevent forced displacement, and secure the release of prisoners and hostages.”

Meanwhile, Israel refused the decision in a statement, claiming it “does not bring peace any closer.”

Successive Israeli governments since the 1993 Oslo Accords have treated the idea of a two-state solution selectively, attaching conditions that make implementation difficult, without explicitly rejecting it.

But the positions of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have shifted. In 2009, he hinted at conditional acceptance of a demilitarized Palestinian state, before backtracking. His current government, considered the most extreme, has on several occasions declared outright rejection of a two-state solution, despite broad international and UN support for the solution.