Tel Aviv [Israel], September 12: The Palestinian delegation on September 10 won a seat at the UN General Assembly, a new right for the Palestinians even though they are not full members of the body. The UN General Assembly granted the Palestinian delegation some new rights in a resolution , such as the ability to submit proposals and amendments. However, the Palestinian delegation still has no voting rights or membership in UN bodies.
Starting from the 79th session of the UN General Assembly on September 10, Palestinian Special Envoy to the UN Riyad Mansour was present at a table marked "State of Palestine". This diplomat sat between the representatives of the Sri Lankan and Sudanese delegations.
Commenting on the event, Egyptian Ambassador Osama Mahmoud Abdelkhalek Mahmoud emphasized: "This is not just a procedural matter. This is a historic moment for us (the UN General Assembly)."
Israel condemned the move immediately after the resolution was passed. Israel's deputy ambassador to the UN, Jonathan Miller, said: "Any decision and action to improve the situation of the Palestinian people, whether in the UN General Assembly or bilaterally, is now a 'reward' for terrorism in general and Hamas in particular."
Amid the conflict in the Gaza Strip, Palestine renewed its bid for UN membership in April. At a meeting in May, a majority of the UN General Assembly agreed that Palestine deserved full membership, but the US vetoed the move. According to Article 4 of the UN Charter, the admission of a new member must be approved by the Security Council before being submitted to the General Assembly for decision.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
