UN recognizes state of Palestine
UNITED NATIONS (AP) - The United Nations voted overwhelmingly Thursday to recognize a Palestinian state, a long-sought victory for the Palestinians but an embarrassing diplomatic defeat for the United States.
The resolution upgrading the Palestinians' status to a nonmember observer state at the United Nations was approved by a more than two-thirds majority of the 193-member world body - a vote of 138-9, with 41 abstentions.
A Palestinian flag was quickly unfurled on the floor of the General Assembly, behind the Palestinian delegation. In the West Bank city of Ramallah, hundreds crowded into the main square waved Palestinian flags and chanted "God is great." Others who had crowded around outdoor screens and television sets to watch the vote hugged, honked and set off fireworks before dancing in the streets.
Real independence, however, remains an elusive dream until the Palestinians negotiate a peace deal with the Israelis, who warned that the General Assembly action will only delay a lasting solution. Israel still controls the West Bank, east Jerusalem and access to Gaza, and it accused the Palestinians of bypassing negotiations with the campaign to upgrade their U.N. status.
The United States immediately criticized the historic vote. "Today's unfortunate and counterproductive resolution places further obstacles in the path peace," U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice said. And U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called the vote "unfortunate" and "counterproductive."
The United States and Israel voted against recognition, joined by Canada, the Czech Republic, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau and Panama.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the speech by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to the General Assembly shortly before the vote "defamatory and venomous," saying it was "full of mendacious propaganda" against Israel. He called the vote meaningless.
Abbas had told the General Assembly that it was "being asked today to issue the birth certificate of Palestine." Abbas said the vote is the last chance to save the two-state solution.
After the vote, Netanyahu said the UN move violated past agreements between Israel and the Palestinians and that Israel would act accordingly, without elaborating what steps it might take.
Just before the vote, Israel's U.N. ambassador, Ron Prosor, warned the General Assembly that "the Palestinians are turning their backs on peace" and that the U.N. can't break the 4,000-year-old bond between the people of Israel and the land of Israel.
The vote had been certain to succeed, with most of the member states sympathetic to the Palestinians. Several key countries, including France, this week announced they would support the move to elevate the Palestinians from the status of U.N. observer to nonmember observer state.
Thursday's vote came on the same day, Nov. 29, that the U.N. General Assembly in 1947 voted to recognize a state in Palestine, with the jubilant revelers then Jews. The Palestinians rejected that partition plan, and decades of tension and violence have followed.
The vote grants Abbas an overwhelming international endorsement for his key position: establishment of a Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem, the territories captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war. With Netanyahu opposed to a pullback to the 1967 lines, this should strengthen Abbas' hand if peace talks resume.
The overwhelming vote also could help Abbas restore some of his standing, which has been eroded by years of standstill in peace efforts. His rival, Hamas, deeply entrenched in Gaza, has seen its popularity rise after an Israeli offensive on targets linked to the Islamic militant group there earlier this month.
Israel has stepped back from initial threats of harsh retaliation for the Palestinians seeking U.N. recognition, but government officials warned that Israel would respond to any Palestinian attempts to use the upgraded status to confront Israel in international bodies.
The Palestinians now can gain access to U.N. agencies and international bodies, most significantly the International Criminal Court, which could become a springboard for going after Israel for alleged war crimes or its ongoing settlement building on war-won land.
However, in the run-up to the U.N. vote, Abbas signaled that he wants recognition to give him leverage in future talks with Israel, and not as a tool for confronting or delegitimizing Israel, as Israeli leaders have alleged.
The resolution upgrading the Palestinians' status to a nonmember observer state at the United Nations was approved by a more than two-thirds majority of the 193-member world body - a vote of 138-9, with 41 abstentions.
A Palestinian flag was quickly unfurled on the floor of the General Assembly, behind the Palestinian delegation. In the West Bank city of Ramallah, hundreds crowded into the main square waved Palestinian flags and chanted "God is great." Others who had crowded around outdoor screens and television sets to watch the vote hugged, honked and set off fireworks before dancing in the streets.
Real independence, however, remains an elusive dream until the Palestinians negotiate a peace deal with the Israelis, who warned that the General Assembly action will only delay a lasting solution. Israel still controls the West Bank, east Jerusalem and access to Gaza, and it accused the Palestinians of bypassing negotiations with the campaign to upgrade their U.N. status.
The United States immediately criticized the historic vote. "Today's unfortunate and counterproductive resolution places further obstacles in the path peace," U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice said. And U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called the vote "unfortunate" and "counterproductive."
The United States and Israel voted against recognition, joined by Canada, the Czech Republic, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau and Panama.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the speech by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to the General Assembly shortly before the vote "defamatory and venomous," saying it was "full of mendacious propaganda" against Israel. He called the vote meaningless.
Abbas had told the General Assembly that it was "being asked today to issue the birth certificate of Palestine." Abbas said the vote is the last chance to save the two-state solution.
After the vote, Netanyahu said the UN move violated past agreements between Israel and the Palestinians and that Israel would act accordingly, without elaborating what steps it might take.
Just before the vote, Israel's U.N. ambassador, Ron Prosor, warned the General Assembly that "the Palestinians are turning their backs on peace" and that the U.N. can't break the 4,000-year-old bond between the people of Israel and the land of Israel.
The vote had been certain to succeed, with most of the member states sympathetic to the Palestinians. Several key countries, including France, this week announced they would support the move to elevate the Palestinians from the status of U.N. observer to nonmember observer state.
Thursday's vote came on the same day, Nov. 29, that the U.N. General Assembly in 1947 voted to recognize a state in Palestine, with the jubilant revelers then Jews. The Palestinians rejected that partition plan, and decades of tension and violence have followed.
The vote grants Abbas an overwhelming international endorsement for his key position: establishment of a Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem, the territories captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war. With Netanyahu opposed to a pullback to the 1967 lines, this should strengthen Abbas' hand if peace talks resume.
The overwhelming vote also could help Abbas restore some of his standing, which has been eroded by years of standstill in peace efforts. His rival, Hamas, deeply entrenched in Gaza, has seen its popularity rise after an Israeli offensive on targets linked to the Islamic militant group there earlier this month.
Israel has stepped back from initial threats of harsh retaliation for the Palestinians seeking U.N. recognition, but government officials warned that Israel would respond to any Palestinian attempts to use the upgraded status to confront Israel in international bodies.
The Palestinians now can gain access to U.N. agencies and international bodies, most significantly the International Criminal Court, which could become a springboard for going after Israel for alleged war crimes or its ongoing settlement building on war-won land.
However, in the run-up to the U.N. vote, Abbas signaled that he wants recognition to give him leverage in future talks with Israel, and not as a tool for confronting or delegitimizing Israel, as Israeli leaders have alleged.
I actually think that Egypt should have gobbled up Gaza. Â I'm not sure what good that this is going to do.
 @UtterReality That would violate the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel.
And the UN is relevant how?
Another reason the US should get out of the UN. It does not embrace the ideals of our founding fathers, or the views expressed in the Declaration and Constitution.
 @contraryjim What does that have to do with Israel?  They are not an American territory.
Well, neither does the Obama Administration, but sadly, we're stuck with it.
About damn time. The first step is recognizing the relevance of both sides of an argument.
Is this mean there will be peace between the Israelis and Palestinians? Despite the U.N. recognized Palestine as a state, I wouldn't bet on it because the U.S. and Israel will not let it happen unless it is under their terms.
Nah... i still dont recognize it.... looks the same as any other mid east rathole the we are spending too much time defending
 @ufrigginkiddin You should look into how many billions of dollars of our tax money the US sends to Israel annually to bomb the people of Palestine before you make claims to the opposite.
 @SusieQ  @ufrigginkiddin If you check, the US is funding both sides, trying to buy loyalty. Was it Madison who said to avoid foreign entanglements?
 @contraryjim  @SusieQ  @ufrigginkiddin You're kidding right? You realize Israel is the #1 recipient of US aid by a longshot, over 12 billion. The closest was Egypt at under 1 billion, I have no clue where the Palestinians rank but I think it's probably way down there.
I recognize them as the people who partied like it was 1999........ right after 9-11.
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Hamas would kill everyone in Seattle if given the chance, but we are so loving and supportive.
Why not just adopt a palestinian into each of your homes? Oh, oh, oh I see
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 @brewzbrothers I think that was selective broadcasting by people who would benefit from making the palestinians look bad.  I also remember seeing Arafat donate blood that day.
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By the way, my friend recalls much cheering going on in his school in the south on the day Kennedy was shot - a national day of tragedy that many Americans themselves cheered about. Â There just weren't any cameras recording their ugly display on that day.
 @bellapony  @brewzbrothers They didn't need the cameras, it was in the Dallas newspapers:
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"On the very day JFK visited Dallas and died, the local newspaper, The Dallas Morning News, featured a full page, black-bordered anti-Kennedy advertisement prepared and paid for by persons affiliated with the John Birch Society, one of the most infamous right-wing extremist organizations of the 1960âs. The ad claimed to be the work of âThe American Fact-Finding Committee,â in reality a nonexistent organization. Bernard Weissman, listed on the ad as the chairman of the Committee, however, did exist; he was the person who actually placed the ad. Weissman later testified before the Warren Commission. He was one of the few witnesses before that body who deemed it prudent to appear accompanied by an attorney."
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And this is also part of history:
"When the president died, the cheering stopped and for days America was filled with gloom and mourning. There was, however, in this country one political group that rejoiced at the news of the assassination. Right-wingers, the truth must be told, were delighted by Kennedyâs death. As far as they were concerned, Kennedy deserved to die, die, die. During his presidency, right-wingers utterly detested President John F. Kennedy; and the extreme right-wingers hated Kennedy with a venomous, malignant ferocity bordering on insanity. Because he was a liberal and pro-civil rights, right-wingersâparticularly, the segregationists and racists, the opponents of civil rights, the states-righters, the free enterprise loonies, the wealthy ultra-conservatives, the religious bigots, the anti-Castro Cubans, the U.N. haters, and the lunatic fringe anti-Communistsâregarded JFK as dangerous, destructive, and downright traitorous. For a glimpse of the seething hatred right-wingers felt for JFK, consider the false, malicious, and inflammatory accusations Dallas right-wingers leveled at Kennedy on the day of his fatal visit to Dallas and the immediately preceding days. Two days before President Kennedyâs trip to Dallas, right-wingers began circulating around the city some 5,000 anti-Kennedy handbills. Entitled âWanted for Treason,â these leaflets were designed to look like a police âwantedâ poster, with front and profile photographs of Kennedyâs head. The handbills shrieked:    âThis man is wanted for treasonous activities against the United States:    1. Betraying the Constitution (which he is sworn to uphold):       He is turning the sovereignty of the U.S. over to the communist controlled United Nations.       He is betraying our friends (Cuba, Katanga, Portugal) and befriending our enemies (Russia, Yugoslavia, Poland).    2. He has been WRONG on innumerable issues affecting the security of the U.S. (United Nations-Berlin wall-Missile removal-Cuba-Wheat deals-Test Ban Treaty, etc.).    3. He has been lax in enforcing Communist Registration laws.    4. He has given support and encouragement to the Communist inspired racial riots.    5. He has illegally invaded a sovereign State with federal troops.    6. He has consistently appointed Anti-Christians to Federal office:       Upholds the Supreme Court in its Anti-Christian rulings.       Aliens and known Communists abound in Federal offices.    7. He has been caught in fantastic LIES to the American people (including personal ones like his previous marriage and divorce).â "
 @SusieQ  @bellapony  @brewzbrothers Well said...and that wing has been there for decades - McCarthy, Curtis Le May, MacArthur - ever hear of the John Birch Society? My grandfather - an important leader in the 1920's MI GOP - worked to counter the right wing.
And the right wingers will try to bring up the kkk as being a democrat invention - and they are correct, there are some really ugly histories in both parties - the difference is that the Dems pretty much purged them in the 50's & 60's. And most of the Dixiecrat garbage left the Dems and went far right Republican.Â
People look at the current political schism and call it new and more intense - but it is only a shadow of what has been in place for over a century in this country. For one thing, this Congress does not have The Committee that terrified many during the 50's, no Congress member who has (so far) reached the levels of fear and control and destruction of Joe McCarthy.Â
 @OrcasThunder  @bellapony  @brewzbrothers Wow. One sentence in that struck me as being so current and so descriptive of the GOP today:
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"Because he was a liberal and pro-civil rights, right-wingersâparticularly, the segregationists and racists, the opponents of civil rights, the states-righters, the free enterprise loonies, the wealthy ultra-conservatives, the religious bigots, the anti-Castro Cubans, the U.N. haters, and the lunatic fringe anti-Communistsâregarded JFK as dangerous, destructive, and downright traitorous."
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No-one brings up segregationists or communists much these days, but beyond that, this is an accurate description of members of the current GOP. I thought the religious right trying to hijack the Republican parts was a relatively new phenomenon, but I guess not. It's weird that the party that screams most for less government in our lives does not see the irony in their inability to separate church and state.
 @bellapony  @brewzbrothers Sorry, forgot the link...
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http://www.law.uga.edu/dwilkes_more/jfk_24blownaway.html
 @brewzbrothers So based on one video clip of militants celebrating an attack on the country that had long supplied their occupiers with military hardware and diplomatic cover, you judge all Palestinians to be supporters of al-Qaida.
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Well, that's certainly fair and reasonable. Oh, oh, oh I see.
 @SutekhÂ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mV_eN4YEEI0
Women, children, everyone.
Celebrating only because planes were hijacked and a lot of people were killed by terrorists here in the US.
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It's a simple fact as to EXACTLY what these people are and EXACTLY what they want out of life.
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Glad I could help!
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fox news is like fair and balanced tho.. Â they even say they are... Â they would never lie......
 @brewzbrothers  @Sutekh One shouldn't get his news from youtube, CNN or Fox.  You should get out more.  Reality awaits!
 @SutekhÂ
Google the same event until you've got a hangover.
You can sprinkle sugar all over dog poop for some people...not me.
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 @brewzbrothers Yes, because that 23-second clip shows every man, woman, and child in Palestine celebrating the fact that "planes were hijacked and a lot of people were killed by terrorists here in the US."
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Oops, what, it doesn't?
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How embarrassing.
The U.S. should save its coin and stop overpaying for its UN Membership.
 @Fugonn Yep, isolationism works wonders in a globalized economy. <that's sarcasm btw>
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Glad you're not a head of state.
 @SusieQ  @Fugonn the US is funding both sides, trying to buy loyalty. Was it Madison who said to avoid foreign entanglements?
 @SusieQ   Â
And Palestine, and the "so called" Palestinian people dont really exist, so we shouldnt be giving them a damned thing anyway.
 @contraryjim  @Fugonn You said that earlier up top. And you were told quite accurately that Israel receives the most aid from the US of any nation in the world. To the tune of 12 billion dollars. No other country in the world even comes close to that amount. And Palestine is nowhere near the top of the list.
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 @David Campbell Stop spamming.
 @ETSubmariner  @David Campbell He's been flagged as spam...
@OrcasThunder @ETSubmariner @David Campbell I think he should be flagged as a moron because what ever he is saying doesn't make any sense.
Good to see that maybe they will finally get their country. Israel has violated the agreements for decades. I've always believed that Palestine should use violence to get their country back. Thats the only way a country actually gains control, we did the same thing. Israel violently took the country starting in the 20's. Palestinians have lived on the land for over 2000 years as have the jews. Too bad they can't just live together but with judaism and muslims being both spinoff cults from the same religion they're bound to keep fighting. Too bad people couldn't just grow up and see religion for the ancient paganism it really is.
 @Blindman BS! The Jews have over 3000 years of recorded history there. The "Palestinians", as a specific race, has only 50 years.
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And I agree with you on saying they should use violence against Israel. Just do it hard enough where Israel will FINALLY get tired of trying to talk to moronic primates, and totally wipe them out.
@Blindman Your screen name is fitting.
Long since overdue. Most people opposed to this have no idea what the Sykes-Picot agreement was and how the Palestinians have been screwed over by every major power for over 100 years.Â
 @NorthwestEconomist ...aaaaand how long have the Jews been getting screwed?  A lot longer than 100 years.
 @wsmith_84  @NorthwestEconomist Is your argument really "Jews were oppressed, so therefore it's right to oppress the Palestinians"?
 @wsmith_84  @NorthwestEconomist A 2000 year old diaspora is completely different than the current situation of displaced Palestinian refugees who were kicked out of their houses just a few decades ago, many of whom are still alive and living terrible lives in refugee camps. Why was it necessary to do that to them to make up for what the Romans did 2 millennia ago. Go read up on the Balfour Declaration and learn some basic 20th century history. Â
 @smokey307  @NorthwestEconomist Why should the Holocaust have anything to do with Israel's existience and persecution of ANOTHER group? You do realize there are tons of oppressed groups everywhere and some who suffered greater casualties than the Holocaust. Look at China under Mao and the hundreds of millions of oppressed groups he executed. Where are there countries? Oh my bad, you are probably reading this on your "made in China" electronic device.
 @wsmith_84  @NorthwestEconomist You mean when we bring up GOP presidents like Nixon?
@NorthwestEconomist @wsmith_84 Actually Palestinians have been refugees for 64 years. Both groups have valid claims on the land. When the UN voted for Israel's independence,the Holocaust ended only three years earlier and there was rightly strong sympathy for Jews and the needs of the Palestinians were ignored. Now is the time to address the issue once and for all.
 @wsmith_84  @NorthwestEconomist How exactly should Israel have anything to do with something 2000 years ago anyway? You never explained that. My bet is through inter-marriage the descendants of those Jews married the descendants of those Romans, so who should get the land? This is the same stupid reasoning behind those who like to suggest reparations for slavery, all of those people are dead and their descendants are mixed into other populations. This ideaology becomes even more laughable when you begin to understand the difference between ashkenazis and sephardics and realize how absurd the divisions are there and what the ramifications of that mean.
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However, those Palestinians who were robbed of their homes are still alive. What matters here IS a focus on recent history because it is the most relevant and because the people involved in it are still around and they deserve better. Even the author of Der Judenstaat is dead, so please tell me where you pull your justification from, or are you just hoping to stall until all of the Palestinians who were kicked out of their country die in exile?
 @NorthwestEconomist I am quite well-versed in history, 20th century and before, thank you.
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You need to focus on more than just the last "few decades" to understand the problem.
 @NorthwestEconomist And even before then, by the Ottoman Empire.
 @NorthwestEconomist Still no reason to strap on explosives and blow up everything in sight
 @Larry*X*K Stereotype much? The redcoats were saying similar things about the American revolutionaries's tactics...
@NorthwestEconomist @Larry*X*K We liked it when they wore red and marched in straight lines.