NEW DELHI — India voted on Friday in favour of a United Nations resolution endorsing the “New York Declaration” on the peaceful settlement of the Palestine issue and the implementation of the two-state solution.
The resolution was introduced by France, was adopted with the support of 142 nations, while 10 voted against it and 12 abstained. Among those opposing were Israel, the United States, Argentina, and Hungary.
India was among the 142 nations that voted in favour of the resolution titled ‘Endorsement of the New York Declaration on the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution’.
The New York Declaration was first circulated during a high-level international conference at the UN headquarters in July, co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia. It commits world leaders to “take collective action to end the war in Gaza, to achieve a just, peaceful and lasting settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict based on the effective implementation of the two-state solution, and to build a better future for Palestinians, Israelis and all peoples of the region.”
The declaration reaffirms the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination and warns that without concrete steps toward the two-state solution and international guarantees, “the conflict will deepen and regional peace will remain elusive.”
“Recent developments have highlighted, once again, and more than ever, the terrifying human toll and the grave implications for regional and international peace and security of the persistence of the Middle East conflict,” the declaration stated.
It also made clear that “the war in Gaza must end now,” stressing that Gaza is an “integral part of a Palestinian state and must be unified with the West Bank,” rejecting any “occupation, siege, territorial reduction, or forced displacement.”
The declaration also called on the Israeli leadership to issue a clear public commitment to the two-state solution, including a sovereign, and viable Palestinian State.
