Eight countries joined the U.S. in opposing the UN’s latest resolution to allow Palestine to qualify to become a full UN member.
The United Nations General Assembly backed the Palestinian bid to be eligible for a full UN membership on Friday, with 143 countries voting in favor, 25 abstaining and nine voting against.
Those nine countries that opposed the Palestinian recognition to join the international body are the U.S., Israel, Argentina, Czech Republic, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Hungary and Papua New Guinea.
In April, the U.S. vetoed a Palestinian bid to be recognized as a member state of the UN during a Security Council vote on April 18. Two nations abstained while the U.S. was the only veto vote.
With the adoption of the resolution, the Security Council is now recommended to take up the “favorably” for Palestine which in 2012 became a U.N. non-member observer state.
The effort for Palestine to become a full member of the U.N. comes as the war between Israel and Hamas has continued into the seventh month, shifting the focus of the UN meetings to the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip as over 34,000 people have been killed since the conflict started on Oct. 7 following Hamas’ terrorist attack on southern Israel that killed around 1,200 Israelis.
Riyad Mansour, Palestine's UN ambassador, told the body that voting “yes” for the resolution was the right choice.
“Voting 'Yes' is the right thing to do and I can assure you, you and your country for years to come will be proud to have stood for freedom, justice and peace in this darkest hour,” Mansour said before the vote.
Israel's Ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, brought a paper shredder while speaking at the lectern and denounced those who have shown willingness to back the resolution.
“Shame on you,” he said while shredding the copy of the U.N. charter.
