The United Nations General Assembly on Friday overwhelmingly endorsed a declaration outlining “tangible, time-bound and irreversible steps” toward a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians, without the involvement of Hamas. Israel rejected the declaration, calling it a prize for the terror group.
One hundred and forty-two countries voted in favor of the non-binding resolution enshrining the New York Declaration, which also calls on Hamas to release all hostages and condemns the terror group’s October 7, 2023, onslaught.
Joining Israel and the United States in opposing the resolution were Argentina, Hungary, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, and Tonga. Twelve countries abstained.
It also calls for “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.”
The declaration, which was endorsed by the Arab League and co-signed in July by 17 UN member states, including several Arab countries, also goes further than condemning Hamas, seeking to fully excise the terror group from leadership in Gaza.
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“In the context of ending the war in Gaza, Hamas must end its rule in Gaza and hand over its weapons to the Palestinian Authority, with international engagement and support, in line with the objective of a sovereign and independent Palestinian State,” the declaration stated.
Watch the moment the General Assembly overwhelmingly voted to endorse the New York Declaration on the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution.
The world chooses peace.
Palestine chooses peace. pic.twitter.com/U91yVEuCJc
— State of Palestine (@Palestine_UN) September 12, 2025
The New York Declaration includes discussion of a “deployment of a temporary international stabilization mission” to the battered region under the mandate of the UN Security Council, aiming to support the Palestinian civilian population and facilitate security responsibilities to the Palestinian Authority.
The vote preceded an upcoming UN summit co-chaired by Riyadh and Paris on September 22 in New York, in which Britain, France, Canada, Australia, and Belgium are expected to formally recognize a Palestinian state. Israel has called the planned recognition of a Palestinian state a “prize for terror,” and rejected the motion on Friday.
“The only beneficiary is Hamas …When terrorists are the ones cheering, you are not advancing peace; you are advancing terror,” Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon said.
The Foreign Ministry called it a disgrace.
Ministry spokesman Oren Marmorstein said in a post on X that Israel “utterly rejects” the declaration, calling it evidence that the General Assembly had become “a political circus detached from reality.”
Israel utterly rejects the decision of the UN General Assembly this evening.
Once again, it has been proven how much the General Assembly is a political circus detached from reality: in the dozens of clauses of the declaration endorsed by this resolution, there is not a single… pic.twitter.com/UAT2VaAysi
— Oren Marmorstein (@OrenMarmorstein) September 12, 2025
“There is no reference to the simple fact that Hamas is solely responsible for the continuation of the war, through its refusal to return the hostages and disarm,” Marmorstein said.
“The resolution does not advance a solution of peace — on the contrary, it encourages Hamas to continue the war,” he added.
“Israel thanks all the countries that did not lend their hand to this disgraceful decision in the General Assembly.”
Palestinian Authority Vice President Hussein al-Sheikh welcomed the vote, writing on X, “This resolution expresses international willingness to support our people’s rights and constitutes an important step towards ending the occupation and achieving our independent state on 1967 borders with (Israeli-annexed) east Jerusalem as its capital.”
The United States described the vote as “yet another misguided and ill-timed publicity stunt” that undermined serious diplomatic efforts to end the conflict.
“Make no mistake, this resolution is a gift to Hamas,” US diplomat Morgan Ortagus told the General Assembly. “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.”
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said the resolution secured the international isolation of Hamas.
“For the first time today, the United Nations adopted a text condemning it for its crimes and calling for its surrender and disarmament,” he said in a tweet.
“The fact that the General Assembly is finally backing a text that condemns Hamas directly is significant,” even if “Israelis will say it is far too little, far too late,” Richard Gowan, UN Director at the International Crisis Group, told AFP.
“Now at least states supporting the Palestinians can rebuff Israeli accusations that they implicitly condone Hamas,” he said, adding that it “offers a shield against Israeli criticism.”
The war in Gaza began with the October 7, 2023, attack, when thousands of Hamas-led terrorists invaded Israel, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages.
Israel’s Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon (bottom-R) speaks during a General Assembly meeting to vote on the two-state solution to the Palestinian question at United Nations headquarters (UN) on September 12, 2025, in New York City. (ANGELA WEISS / AFP)
The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says more than 64,000 people in the Strip have been killed or are presumed dead in the fighting so far, though the toll cannot be verified and does not differentiate between civilians and fighters. Israel says it has killed over 22,000 combatants in battle as of August and another 1,600 terrorists inside Israel during the October 7 onslaught.
Israel has said it seeks to minimize civilian fatalities and stresses that Hamas uses Gaza’s civilians as human shields, fighting from civilian areas including homes, hospitals, schools, and mosques.
Israel’s toll in the ground offensive against Hamas in Gaza and in military operations along the border with the Strip stands at 465.
Terror groups in the Gaza Strip are holding 48 hostages, including the bodies of at least 26 confirmed dead by the IDF. Twenty are believed to be alive, and there are grave concerns for the well-being of two others, Israeli officials have said.
Around three-quarters of the 193 UN member states recognize the Palestinian state proclaimed in 1988 by the exiled Palestinian leadership.
However, after two years of war have ravaged the Gaza Strip, in addition to expanded Israeli settlements in the West Bank and the stated desire by Israeli officials to annex the territory, fears have been growing that the existence of an independent Palestinian state will soon become impossible.
“We are going to fulfill our promise that there will be no Palestinian state,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed Thursday.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, meanwhile, may be prevented from visiting New York for the UN summit after US authorities said they would deny him a visa.
