Despite a history of conflict, Palestine was recognized as a state after the United Nations General Assembly voted robustly in favor Thursday.
Out of the 193 members of the General Assembly, the final vote tally was 138 to 9, with 41 abstentions.
Before the vote, Palestine’s West Bank, and the Gaza Strip were considered “non-member observer entities.”
The West Bank is under the leadership of the Palestinian Authority, headed by President Mahmoud Abbas , and the Gaza Strip is under control of Hamas, which violently split from Palestinian Authority in 2007.
Now, Palestine is considered a “non-member observer state,” which is equivalent to the Vatican. Palestine now has access to UN agencies, most notably, the International Criminal Court, but can’t vote on UN resolutions, nor sponsor any resolutions.
Arthur Goldshimdt, a Penn State Middle-Eastern history professor, said the move was timely.
“There was a lot going on between Palestine and Israel with both sides sending rockets at one another, and it was ended recently when Morsi [Egypt’s president] and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton brokered a truce between the two,” Goldshmidt said. “I still think this move won’t change much legally.”
This is important to Palestine, but to be admitted as a full-member state, it must be approved through the UN Security Council, he said.
The vote came with support from Arab countries and some European countries, including France and Spain.
Heather Qader, former president of Students for Justice in Palestine, said this was a small victory.
“It’s not as big as we think, but it’s a small step,” Qader, Class of 2012, said. “This vote represents what the people around the world believe.”
Israel refuses to recognize the Palestinians as people, she said. The way they bomb villages with no remorse shows how they really feel about the Palestinians, she said.
Qader also said she thinks the pre-1967 borders of Israel and Palestine are fairest.
The United States, and most notably Israel, is unhappy with the final notes.
“Today’s unfortunate and counterproductive resolution places further obstacles in the path to peace,” Susan Rice, the United States’ UN ambassador, said.
Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of Israel, said the address by President Mahmoud Abbas to the General Assembly shortly before the vote was “defamatory and venomous.” He also added the speech was “full of mendacious propaganda” against Israel.