UN votes to give Palestinians 'non-member state' status

The UN General Assembly has overwhelmingly voted to grant the Palestinian Authority "non-member state" status. Earlier Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas urged UN members to "issue a birth certificate" for a state of Palestine as he opened the debate in the General Assembly. "Palestine comes today to the United Nations General Assembly at a time when it is still tending to its wounds and still burying its beloved martyrs of children, women and men, who have fallen victim to the latest Israeli aggression," Mr Abbas said, in reference to the recent Israeli assault on Gaza. Israel's ambassador Ron Prosor said the move to upgrade the Palestinians' status was "so one-sided it doesn't advance peace, it pushes it backward".