Two giant boards displaying the result of the vote on Palestine’s UN membership at the UN general assembly hall.
New Delhi: India voted in favour of a United Nations general assembly resolution that supports Palestine’s bid to become a full member of the world body, on Friday. The resolution received support from 143 countries, including India, while nine countries voted against it, and 25 countries abstained from voting.
It may be recalled that India voted in favour of a UNGA resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza between Israel and Hamas. The relentless Israeli bombing in the besieged Palestinian enclave following Hamas’s military raid inside Israel on October 7, 2023, has left nearly 40,000 Palestinian civilians dead, most of whom are women and children.
The resolution, spearheaded by the United Arab Emirates, determined that “the State of Palestine is qualified for membership in the United Nations” in accordance with Article 4 of the Charter of the United Nations and “should therefore be admitted to membership in the United Nations”. It recommended that the UN security council “reconsider the matter favourably, in the light of this determination”.
The UNGA hall broke into applause after the vote was cast. The vote recognizes Palestine’s right to become the 194th member of the body.
The move comes amidst ongoing tensions in the region. The vote coincided with a period of heightened violence in Gaza, raising concerns about the viability of a two-state solution. However, supporters of the resolution argue that granting Palestine full UN membership would elevate its status and potentially pave the way for a more balanced negotiation process.
However, the path to full membership for Palestine remains complex. The security council, where the United States holds veto power as a close ally of Israel, is unlikely to approve the resolution without a significant shift in US policy. Last month, a similar bid submitted to the UNSC was vetoed by the US despite widespread support in the UNGA. The US is expected to veto it again.
India was the first non-Arab State to recognize the Palestine Liberation Organization as the sole and legitimate representative of the Palestinian people in 1974. India was also one of the first countries to recognize the State of Palestine in 1988. In 1996, New Delhi opened its representative office to the Palestine Authority in Gaza, which was later shifted to Ramallah, in 2003.
India’s permanent representative to the UN, Ruchira Kamboj, said, “I would like to state here at the very outset that in keeping with India’s longstanding position, we hope that this would be reconsidered in due course and that Palestine’s endeavour to become a member of the United Nations will get endorsed.”
