UN votes to upgrade Palestinian status

The United Nations General Assembly has voted in favour of upgrading the Palestinians status to that of a non-member observer state. This recognition of an upgraded UN status was the beginning of “a final serious attempt to achieve peace”, he said, stressing that the Palestinian Liberation Organisation was seeking to “breathe new life” into negotiations. “The General Assembly is called upon today to issue a birth certificate of the reality of the State of Palestine.” “The moment has arrived for the world to say clearly: Enough of aggression, settlements and occupation.“ – Mahmoud Abbas, Chairman, Palestinian Liberation Organisation Ron Prosor, the Israeli ambassador to the UN, also addressed the assembly before the vote, stressing that Israel was “prepared to live in peace with a Palestinian state”, but that Israeli concerns about its security must be a part of any negotiated dialogue. On Tuesday, a senior Israeli official told reporters that Israel would act cautiously, just as Palestinian negotiators said the number of countries indicating their decisions to vote “yes” was on the rise. “We support Palestinians’ right to self-determination, without prejudicing good relations between Israel and the Palestinians and talks to ultimately solve the conflict,” a European diplomat whose country supports the bid told Reuters.