TEHRAN- The adoption of a resolution by the United Nations General Assembly that overwhelmingly backed the Palestinian bid for full UN membership has highlighted growing global solidarity with Palestinians in the wake of Israel’s brutal war on the Gaza Strip.

On Friday, the assembly approved the resolution by a vote of 143 to 9 with 25 abstentions. 

The United States was among the countries that voted against the resolution. However, some of Washington’s allies including France supported it. Some European nations such as Britain and Germany abstained. 

Additional rights 

The resolution does not give Palestine full membership but recognizes it as qualified to join the United Nations. 

The vote grants additional rights and privileges to Palestine within the General Assembly while calling on the Security Council to reconsider its request to become the 194th member of the United Nations. 

Membership can only be decided upon by the 15-member Security Council. 

‘Historic vote’

The Palestinian ambassador to the UN highlighted the significance of the resolution as he touched upon the plight of Palestinians in Gaza and in particular in Rafah.

“As we speak, 1.4 million Palestinians in Rafah wonder if they will survive the day and wonder where to go next. There is nowhere left to go,” Riyad Mansour said in remarks before the vote. 

He added, “I have stood hundreds of times before at this podium, often in tragic circumstances, but none comparable to the ones my people endured today … never for a more significant vote than the one about to take place, a historic one.”

More than half of Gaza’s 2.3 million population have sought refuge in Rafah and are living there amid poor conditions. The majority of them are displaced people who have fled Israeli strikes in other parts of the Gaza Strip. 

Israel launched a ground offensive in Rafah on Monday. Since then, the regime has ordered evacuation orders for Palestinians in some parts of the city. 

Israel has slaughtered nearly 35,000 Palestinians in Gaza since early October; 70 percent of whom are women and children. Fears are growing over new massacres in Rafah if the regime goes on with its military operations there. 

US hypocrisy 

Unsurprisingly, Israel's ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, lashed out at the General Assembly for putting the resolution to vote. 

The US, Israel’s main supporter, vowed to use its veto again if the question of Palestinian membership returns to the Security Council. 

"Our vote does not reflect opposition to Palestinian statehood; we have been very clear that we support it and seek to advance it meaningfully. Instead, it is an acknowledgment that statehood will only come from a process that involves direct negotiations between the parties," Deputy US Ambassador to the UN Robert Wood told the General Assembly.

On April 18, the US vetoed a widely backed Security Council resolution that would have paved the way for full UN membership for Palestine.

The US was the only country that blocked the resolution. Britain and Switzerland abstained while 12 other countries voted in favor. 

The US move brought its growing isolation to the fore and a pledge to veto a new resolution demonstrates its hypocrisy. 

On one hand, the US expresses support for Palestinian statehood and on the other it blocks efforts in this regard. 

The US says Israel and Palestinians should hold direct negotiations on the matter. 

Ulterior motives 

It is as clear as day that talks between the Palestinian Authority and Israel since early 1990 have exacerbated the pain and suffering of the Palestinian people. 

Over the past three decades, Israel has expanded its settlements which are illegal under international law, demolished Palestinian homes and committed heinous crimes in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

In fact, talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority in the format of the so-called two-state solution have emboldened Israel to continue its land grab policy and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.

Since Israel declared war on Gaza on October 7, the US has called for intensified efforts to move toward the two-state solution. 

The US call has been in line with its plans to divert attention away from Israel’s war of genocide in Gaza. 

In fact, Israel does not intend to allow the formation of an independent Palestinian state. 

According to a document that was leaked after Israel launched war on Gaza more than seven months ago, the Israeli Intelligence Ministry had called on the regime’s army to evacuate the civilian population to Egypt’s Sinai.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his far rights ministers have also supported the mass expulsion of the Palestinians.

Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu said in November that he was not entirely satisfied with the scale of Israel's war on Gaza. 

He floated the idea of dropping a nuclear bomb in Gaza "to kill everyone”. 

Such comments show that Israel seeks to establish full control over Gaza and then expel Palestinians from the West Bank. 

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said last month, "I fear that after finishing off Gaza, Israel would head to the West Bank and deport its people to Jordan.” 

Negotiation with a regime that has no scruples about massacring civilians remains absolutely futile. 

Israel has also disregarded international law. It has turned a blind eye to a January ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that calls on the regime to do all it can to prevent death, destruction and any acts of genocide in Gaza.

The vote at the UN General Assembly sheds light on the fact that Israel and its abettor, the United States, have become more isolated and humiliated than ever. 

This is a huge victory for Palestinians which is rooted in their fierce resistance against the occupying Israeli regime. 

Assessments by the Israeli and US intelligence services have revealed that support for the Palestinian resistance in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip has been on the rise despite Israel’s brutal war on the territory. 

Support for Palestine is also growing across the world. Pro-Palestinian protests at US universities and colleges which have spilled over to Europe, Canada, Australia and beyond have disgraced Washington and some of its Western allies as they continue to justify Israel’s atrocious crimes.