UN General Assembly Backs Declaration of Palestinian State, Israeli Envoy Says It Is ‘Advancing Terror’
The United Nations General Assembly on Sept. 12, 2025, in New York passed a resolution backing a declaration that demands “tangible, time-bound, and irreversible steps” toward a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians. The resolution also condemns Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, massacre and Israel’s military actions in Gaza.
Israel’s U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon dismissed the resolution as unbalanced, saying, “The only beneficiary is Hamas … When terrorists are the ones cheering, you are not advancing peace; you are advancing terror.”
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The seven-page declaration emerged from a U.N. conference in July hosted by Saudi Arabia and France, which the United States and Israel skipped. The vote in the 193-member assembly was 142 in favor, 10 against, and 12 abstentions. Gulf Arab states uniformly supported the resolution; the US, Israel, and several others, including Argentina, Hungary, Micronesia, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay and Tonga, opposed it.
The resolution stated that Hamas must disarm and no longer rule the Gaza Strip. It also decried “the attacks by Israel against civilians in Gaza and civilian infrastructure” that have “resulted in a devastating humanitarian catastrophe and protection crisis.”
Israel’s military insists it does not deliberately target civilians but says Hamas’ use of hospitals, schools, and mosques to conceal its infrastructure compels operations in those areas.
US diplomat Morgan Ortagus criticized the resolution, calling it “another misguided and ill-timed publicity stunt” and a “gift to Hamas.” Ortagus stated that “far from promoting peace, the conference has already prolonged the war, emboldened Hamas and harmed the prospects of peace in both the short and long term.”
