Palestine wins de facto UN recognition of sovereign state

"The moment has arrived for the world to say clearly: enough of aggression, settlements and occupation," he said.

"We did not come here seeking to delegitimise a State established years ago, and that is Israel; rather we came to affirm the legitimacy of the State that must now achieve its independence, and that is Palestine," Abbas told the Assembly before the vote.

The Palestinian Authority President said with the vote the world was being asked to undertake a significant step in the process of rectifying the "unprecedented historical injustice" inflicted on the Palestinian people since 1948.

"Your support for our endeavour today," he said, "will send a promising message ¿ to millions of Palestinians on the land of Palestine, in the refugee camps both in the homeland and the Diaspora, and to the prisoners struggling for freedom in Israel's prisons – that justice is possible and that there is a reason to be hopeful and that the peoples of the world do not accept the continuation of the occupation."

Israel's Ambassador to the UN Ron Prosor said his delegation could not accept the resolution "because this resolution is so one-sided, it doesn't advance peace, it pushes it backwards," he stated, adding that peace could only be achieved through negotiations.

Prosor said the resolution would do nothing to advance the peace process.

"Today the Palestinians are turning their back on peace," he said.

"Don't let history record that today the UN helped them along on their march of folly.

"There's only one route to Palestinian statehood and that route does not run through this chamber in New York. That route runs through direct negotiations between Jerusalem and Ramallah that will lead to a secure and lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians," he added."There are no shortcuts. No quick fixes. No instant solutions."

... contd.

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