UN General Assembly Votes To Support Free Palestine Without Hamas Despite Israel's Opposite

JAKARTA - The UN General Assembly took steps forward by scheduling a decision-making meeting on the solution of the two countries between Israel and Palestine without Hamas involvement. The meeting will be held today, Friday 12 September.

"The fact that the General Assembly finally supports text condemning Hamas directly is significant," although "Israel will say it too little, too late," said UN Director at the International Crisis Group, Richard Gowan, to AFP, Friday 12 September.

This voting vote is an attempt by the UN General Assembly to support the New York Declaration in July 2025. The declaration urging Israel to commit to the independence and care of the Palestinian state.

The vote also preceded the UN summit initiated by France and Saudi Arabia which was originally scheduled to be held on September 22 in New York, where French President Emmanuel Macron has pledged to officially recognize the Palestinian state in the forum.

Apart from Macron, several other leaders have announced their intention to officially recognize the Palestinian state at the upcoming UN summit.

"Now, at least Palestinian-backed countries can refute Israel's accusations that they implicitly justify Hamas," he said.

He added that this decision-making would "provide a shield against criticism pointed at Israel."

The New York Declaration includes discussions on the "provisional deployment of international stabilization missions" to affected areas under the mandate of the UN Security Council, which aims to support Palestinian civilians and facilitate the security responsibility of the Palestinian Authority.

About three-quarters of the 193 UN member states recognized the Palestinian state proclaimed in 1988 by exiled Palestinian leaders.

However, after two years of Israeli attacks destroyed the Gaza Strip, coupled with the expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, and the Israeli officials' desire to annex the region, concerns are growing that the existence of an independent Palestinian state is impossible. This could come true with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin's recent statement.

"We will fulfill our promise, that there will be no Palestinian state," Netanyahu said on Thursday.

On the one hand, the upcoming UN summit, one of which is scheduled to recognize the establishment of an independent Palestinian state by UN member states, will be a big challenge for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas who is likely to be challenged to visit New York to attend the UN summit because the United States Government rejects Visanya.