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Palestinians secure UN vote for state
The Palestinians won an overwhelming diplomatic victory at the UN on Thursday after 138 out of 193 member states voted to upgrade their status at the global body, sending one of the strongest signals yet in favour of an independent Palestinian state.Speaking before the vote at the UN General Assembly, Mahmoud Abbas, the veteran Palestinian leader, described the resolution as the birth certificate of the Palestinian state. He said Palestine was in desperate need of peace and insisted that the UN move was intended to launch a final serious attempt to achieve peace with Israel. The resolution will raise the status of the Palestinian delegation from that of a non-member observer entity to that of a non-member observer state. It falls short of full UN membership and most analysts say it is unlikely to affect the balance of power between Israel and the Palestinians in the near future. Palestinian officials argue, however, that the upgrade will allow them to join other UN agencies as well as the International Criminal Court a prospect that has alarmed Israel and that may give the Palestinians greater political leverage. They hope that Thursdays vote will bolster their position in negotiations with Israel, and strengthen the increasingly fragile political position of Mr Abbas himself. Posted by: tipper 2012-11-29 |
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