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Palestinian flag to fly at UN headquarters
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THE UN General Assembly has overwhelmingly approved a resolution allowing the Palestinians and the Holy See to raise their flags at UN headquarters — a symbolic step pursued by the Palestinians in their quest for an independent state.
Israel strongly objected to the proposal and joined seven other countries, including the United States, in voting “no;” 119 nations voted “yes” and 45 abstained on Thursday.
The resolution allows non-member observer states to raise their flags alongside those of the 193 UN member states. The Palestinians and the Vatican are the only two observers, but the Holy See says it will not raise its flag before Pope Francis visits the UN later this month.
With Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations stalled and little prospect of a two-state solution emerging, the Palestinians have successfully pursued symbolic recognition as a state at the United Nations — winning General Assembly approval in late 2012 to raise their status from an observer to a non-member observer state, by a vote of 138 in favor and nine against.
That has allowed the Palestinians to join UN bodies, including cultural organization UNESCO, and many international treaties, including the Rome Statute that established the International Criminal Court.
Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian UN ambassador, hailed the “historic vote,” calling it “another step towards fulfillment of the promise of independence made to the Palestinian people nearly seven decades ago.”
He said last week that the Palestinians would like President Mahmoud Abbas to raise their flag after he addresses the General Assembly’s annual gathering of world leaders on September 30.
“Of course we know that raising our flag will neither end the (Israeli) occupation nor solve the conflict immediately,” Mansour said.
“But raising the flag will signal to our people everywhere ... that their freedom is inevitable, and the international community supports them in their journey for justice.”
Israel’s UN Ambassador Ron Prosor called the goal of the resolution “a photo op,” saying it will not advance prospects for peace. But in his final speech at the UN he looked forward to that day.
“I look forward to seeing the image of an Israeli prime minister and a Palestinian leader standing side by side, raising the flags of our two peoples, living together in peace. That will be a photo truly worth taking.”
Mansour called the resolution “a contribution to the international effort to salvage the two-state solution” and expressed hope that “we may see the day when the state of Palestine and the state of Israel live side by side in peace.”
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