The United Nations (UN) General Assembly plans to support the government of Palestine without Hamas, as part of a carefully coordinated compromise under which Arab states go further in condemning Hamas’s attacks on Israel from October 2023, in exchange for clear support for the Palestinian state.
The goal is to show how Israel and the United States (U.S.) are isolated in opposing a long-term solution to the war in Gaza, and how countries like Germany, which is a strong ally of Israel, support a solution in which the Palestinian Authority governs both the West Bank and Gaza.
The vote in the General Assembly on Friday will be framed as support for the so-called New York Declaration, a document drafted by France and Saudi Arabia, and signed by 17 states in July. Once adopted, the declaration will contain some of the sharpest criticisms of Hamas ever approved by the UN. The text states: “We strongly condemn the attacks committed by Hamas on October 7th against civilians,” and that “Hamas must release all hostages” held in Gaza.
This vote is expected to open the way for a one-day UN conference on the two-state solution, scheduled in New York immediately before the start of the high-level session of the UN General Assembly. At that conference, several states, including France, the United Kingdom (UK), Canada, and Australia, will formally recognize the State of Palestine.
Temporary international stabilization mission
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted on Thursday that Israel will never accept a Palestinian state. About three-quarters of the 193 UN member states recognize the Palestinian state, which was declared in exile in 1988 by the Palestinian leadership. Germany and Italy remain the two major European countries that still oppose recognizing the Palestinian state, although the Italian coalition government is increasingly polarized on this issue. Five European countries have now banned all imports from illegal Israeli settlements.
The declaration specifies that in the context of ending the war in Gaza, Hamas must cease exercising authority in the Gaza Strip and hand over its weapons to the Palestinian Authority, with the support and cooperation of the international community, in accordance with the goal of creating a sovereign and independent State of Palestine.
It also mentions the deployment of a “temporary international stabilization mission” under the mandate of the UN Security Council, whose task would be to protect the population, support the strengthening of the capacities of the Palestinian state, and provide “security guarantees to both Palestine and Israel.”
Hamas stated that it will not lay down arms until Israel leaves Gaza. Diplomatic activities in the Middle East on Thursday also took place after the UN Security Council condemned the bombing of Qatar, without mentioning Israel.
