General Assembly Endorses New York Declaration, Charting Path to Palestinian Statehood

12 September 2025

Eightieth Session,
2nd Meeting (AM)

Amid rising tensions across the Middle East, the General Assembly today adopted a text endorsing a landmark declaration concerning the realization of an independent State of Palestine, while Israel’s delegate rejected it as a “carefully staged performance for headlines”.

The first major outcome in the eightieth session of the General Assembly, the draft decision entitled “Endorsement of the New York Declaration on the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution” (document A/80/L.1/Rev.1) was adopted by a recorded vote of 142 in favour to 10 against (Argentina, Hungary, Israel, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Tonga and United States) with 12 abstentions. It endorses the outcome document of the High-Level International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution, which was held from July 28 to 30.

The Declaration commits to taking tangible, timebound, and irreversible steps for the peaceful settlement of the question of Palestine and the implementation of the two-State solution, and to achieve, through concrete actions, as rapidly as possible, the realization of an independent, sovereign, economically viable and democratic State of Palestine living side by side, in peace and security with Israel. It also condemns the attacks committed by Hamas against civilians on 7 October, the attacks by Israel against civilians in Gaza and civilian infrastructure, and the siege and starvation, which have resulted in a devastating humanitarian catastrophe.

“This Declaration lays out a single roadmap to deliver the two-State solution,” said the representative of France, also speaking for Saudi Arabia, as he introduced today’s text — both countries co-chaired the Conference. He highlighted the major commitments made by the Palestinian Authority and by Arab countries for peace and security, adding that this roadmap involves “an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the release of all the hostages”. It involves the establishment of a Palestinian State that is viable and sovereign, the disarmament of Hamas and its exclusion from governance in Gaza, and normalization between Israel and Arab countries. “Finally, it involves the implementation of collective security guarantees including Israel,” he said.

“Shame on you,” the representative of Israel said, prior to the adoption of that decision. “This meaningless political manoeuvre takes place while innocent people remain blindfolded in Gaza’s tunnels, starved, tortured, waiting,” he added. He described the “so-called,one-sided” Declaration and the Conference as “procedural tactics and misuse of this Assembly” as well as a “hollow gesture that weakens this Assembly’s credibility”. “This is not diplomacy, it is theatre,” he underscored.

The Declaration undermines negotiations and benefits only Hamas, he said. Pointing to France’s recent pledge recognizing Palestinian statehood, he noted that Hamas welcomed “the political and moral pressure it puts on Israel”. “When terrorists are the ones cheering you, you have to ask yourself what you are doing,” he stated. A recent terrorist attack in Jerusalem is proof that “Hamas and its allies will not stop. They do not seek peace,” he said, condemning the Declaration for failing to designate Hamas as a terrorist organization and for equating Israeli hostages with convicted terrorists. “We will not allow Hamas to win in this Assembly what it could not gain on October 7,” he concluded.

Along similar lines, the representative of the United States described the text as “a misguided, ill-timed publicity stunt” that undermines serious diplomatic efforts as well as a “gift to Hamas”. She added that over the summer, the ceasefire negotiations collapsed “when one of the States organizing the Conference encouraged Hamas’s intransigence by announcing its intention to recognize a conjectural Palestinian State”. Her country will continue “to lead real-world efforts to end the fighting”, she said, adding that today’s text also endorses the so-called right to return which would mean the demographic death of Israel.

However, the Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine underscored that this decision represents peace. Acknowledging the “yearning of almost everyone” to open the door to the peace option, he said the Declaration offers a detailed roadmap for that. He invited “the party that is still pushing the option of war and destruction” to listen to the sound of reason.

“Those who want to save lives, come and join us,” he said, adding that the peace option is for those who want to put an end to the war in Gaza, for those who want to release the hostages and the prisoners, for those who want to end the use of famine against the Palestinian people in Gaza, for those who want to rebuild and reconstruct the Gaza Strip. It is for everyone who wants to have a two-State solution and allow the Middle East to reach its potential in development and cooperation. Noting that this text is the first major outcome of the eightieth session, he added: “Maybe this is a good omen.”

Many delegates welcomed the adoption of the text, with South Africa’s delegate pointing out that “this is a very important and long overdue matter”. Citing Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent statement that “there will be no Palestinian State — this land is ours”, she warned that such assertions undermine the prospect of a Palestinian State. This text “should not distract us from the urgent efforts that are needed to ensure an immediate ceasefire and an end to Israel’s genocidal war against the Palestinian people”, she added.

Iran’s delegate said Israel’s repeated aggressions against other countries have destabilized the entire region. “Decades of concessions, diplomatic overtures and normalization attempts have failed,” he said, adding that the country has been shielded from accountability. He called for a sovereign State of Palestine, “grounded in the genuine will of its original inhabitants, Muslims, Jewish and Christians alike expressed through a free and inclusive referendum”.

“The occupation must end,” Pakistan’s delegate said, adding that it is the root cause of the instability in the Middle East. He, too, condemned the ongoing Israeli aggression in Gaza which has claimed the lives of over 64,000 people, the relentless destruction of civilian infrastructure as well as the expansion of illegal settlements.

The representative of Namibia said that his support for the text was “not a diplomatic gesture”, but a “a genuine recognition of the need for the Palestinian people to be allowed to determine their own destiny”. He condemned the “terrifying” attacks by the Israeli apartheid regime against the civilians in Gaza, the deliberate starvation, stressing there was no justification for the grave violations of the international law.

The representative of Algeria expressed the hope that today’s adoption would “open a political horizon of hope for the Palestinian people”, who are enduring one of the darkest moments in their history. While his country supported the objective of the Declaration towards the establishment of the independent State of Palestine, he rejected “any wording that gives a false equivalence between the wanton aggression and a people under occupation or any wording that undermines the rights of Palestinian people”. Stressing that “stability in the Middle East cannot be achieved by a fabricated or a false peace”, he underscored that the peace should based on “the end of occupation”.

Bulgaria recognized Palestinian statehood in 1988, its speaker said, highlighting the complexity of implementing the two-State solution in the current political context. She said that certain elements of the Declaration — institutional reforms, electoral processes and regional security mechanisms — “will require further clarification and establishment of reliable mechanisms to ensure their effectiveness”.

The representative of the Netherlands highlighted important elements of the Declaration, such as support for the right of self-determination of the Palestinian people in line with the International Court of Justice advisory opinion of 19 July 2024, the condemnation of the 7 October Hamas attack and the call to release all hostages. “Hamas must be disarmed and cannot be part of any future Government in Gaza,” she stressed. The Declaration also rejects any territorial reduction, she noted, condemning the illegal “E1” settlement plan and any other plans that would amount to annexation of a large part of the West Bank. “We call on Israel not to take any steps toward annexation,” she stressed.

The representative of Latvia reiterated his country’s solidarity with civilians on both sides of the conflict — “the main victims of this ongoing escalation”. He urged the international community to continue full diplomatic efforts towards a ceasefire in Gaza, the release of hostages and a surge in humanitarian aid, while noting that his delegation’s vote in favour of the Declaration “does not constitute recognition of the State of Palestine”.

The representative of the Marshall Islands said that a UN majority vote won’t make lasting peace happen in the Middle East. Such peace won’t happen without a two-State solution. His delegation’s vote today in support of the Declaration is not to be mistaken for formal recognition of Palestine, which is a separate and sovereign national act, he said, adding that Hamas has never acknowledged the two-State solution.

Paraguay’s delegate said that while his country officially recognizes the two States, Israel and Palestine, it did not vote for this text because it doesn’t have the support of one of the States involved.