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UN overwhelmingly endorses declaration on Palestinian state

Press TV – September 12, 2025

The United Nations General Assembly has overwhelmingly voted to endorse a declaration outlining “tangible, timebound, and irreversible steps” towards the establishment of a Palestinian state.

The 142-10 vote on Friday was to endorse the so-called New York declaration, a statement calling for a two-state solution, crafted by France and Saudi Arabia in July.

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.

Israel, US isolated

The seven-page declaration is the result of an international conference at the UN on the decades-long Israeli occupation. The United States and Israel boycotted the event.

The declaration, which excludes Hamas, also calls for “collective action to end the Israeli war in Gaza and effective implementation of the two-state solution.”

The declaration, was endorsed by the Arab League and co-signed in July by 17 UN member states, including several Arab countries

Long-time Western allies of Israel, including Belgium, France, the UK, Canada, and Australia, had earlier announced plans to recognize Palestinian statehood during the upcoming UN General Assembly sessions from September 8–23. They would join 147 nations that already formally recognize Palestine.

Around three-quarters of the 193 UN member states recognize the Palestinian state proclaimed in 1988 by the exiled Palestinian leadership.

Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli prime minister, insisted on Thursday that Israel would never accept a Palestinian state.

Gideon Saar, the Israeli foreign minister, recently threatened that the Europeans’ recognition of Palestinian statehood would push Tel Aviv into “unilateral decisions”.

Israel’s far-right finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, has announced plans to annex more than 80 percent of the occupied West Bank in a bid to block the establishment of a Palestinian state.

On August 14, Smotrich announced his intention to move forward with the highly contentious settlement project across the occupied West Bank that “buries the concept of a Palestinian state”.

In July 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) declared Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territory illegal and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East al-Quds. All mere words.

The recognition of a Palestinian state comes as international pressure was mounting on the regime over its genocidal war in the besieged Gaza Strip.

Since the Israeli genocide began in October 2023, the death toll has surpassed 64,700, with more than 164,000 others wounded.

September 12, 2025 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism | , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Pentagon Set to Begin Work on New Military Base in the Pacific

By Kyle Anzalone | Libertarian Institute | January 9, 2023

The Department of Defense is set to begin construction on a new naval base in Palau, the Pacific-island nation. A company was awarded an over $100 million contract to begin construction on the installation, which will house a new advanced radar system.

The Navy announced Gilbane Federal would receive just over $118 million for “the construction of reinforced concrete pads and foundations in support of the installation of the Tactical Mobile Over-the-Horizon Radar equipment in the Republic of Palau.”

The total cost of the military base is unclear and the DoD has been secretive about the Palau base. However, the Pentagon hopes the radars will enable “over the horizon” capabilities. The facility will have two sites located 60 miles apart.

Washington’s new base in the Pacific will add to the over 750 networks of American military bases across the globe. Over the past decade, three successive presidents have poured tax dollars into increasing American military presence in the Indo-Pacific. The build-up comes as the White House prepares for potential conflicts with Beijing and, to a lesser extent, Pyongyang.

In recent years, Washington has attempted to rally its allies in the region against China. In the past few years, the US has started the Quadrilateral Dialog, AUKUS, and signed a trilateral defense cooperation pact with Tokyo and South Korea in June. Additionally, Washington has pushed its NATO partners to increase their military presence in the region.

In an interview with The Financial Times published on SundayLieutenant General James Bierman, commanding general of the Third Marine Expeditionary Force (III MEF) and of Marine Forces Japan, said the US was preparing for war with China over Taiwan.

“Why have we achieved the level of success we’ve achieved in Ukraine? A big part of that has been because after Russian aggression in 2014 and 2015, we earnestly got after preparing for future conflict: training for the Ukrainians, pre-positioning of supplies, identification of sites from which we could operate support, sustain operations,” he said. “We call that setting the theatre. And we are setting the theatre in Japan, in the Philippines, in other locations.”

January 9, 2023 Posted by | Militarism | , | 2 Comments

UN Renews Agency Helping Palestinian Refugees in Defiance of US

teleSUR | December 13, 2019

With 169 votes in favor, nine abstentions, and two votes against, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Friday extended the mandate for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) until June 30, 2023.

“The General Assembly… expresses special commendation to the Agency for the essential role that it has played for almost seven decades since its establishment in providing vital services for the well-being, human development and protection of the Palestine refugees and the amelioration of their plight and for the stability of the region,” the UN resolution states.

Favorable reactions to the UNGA decision were immediate, especially among those who know from their own experience the consequences of the Israeli military occupation.

“We welcome the decision to renew the international mandate to UNRWA and we see it as another failure to hostile U.S. policies to the Palestinian rights,” the Hamas spokesperson Sami Abu Zuhri said.

Established in 1949, the UN humanitarian agency provides housing, education, health, relief services, and microfinance assistance to more than 5 million Palestinian refugees who are currently living in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem.

Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) spokeswoman Hanan Ashrawi also praised the vote and said it was the UN’s responsibility to combat the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Palestinian refugees.

“All attempts at trying to limit the mandate of the UNRWA, defund it or attack it have failed, and we hope that the international community will continue to come to the rescue,” she said.

The U.S. and Israel, which have been leading a smear campaign accusing UNRWA of mismanagement and anti-Israeli incitement, voted against the resolution entitled “Assistance to Palestine Refugees.”

The nine abstentions came from Cameroon, Canada, Guatemala, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, and Vanuatu.

December 14, 2019 Posted by | Ethnic Cleansing, Racism, Zionism, Solidarity and Activism | , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment