15 Fall 2024 n May 9, 2024, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted a Resolution on “Admission of New Members to the United Nations” under the agenda item of “Illegal Israeli actions in Occupied East Jerusalem and the rest of the Occupied Palestinian Territory.”1 The Resolution resolved, inter alia, that “The State of Palestine is qualified for membership in the United Nations.”2 This UNGA Resolution raises two relevant questions: has the Resolution changed the procedural rights of “Palestine” in the UN and, more importantly, does this mean that in accordance with international law, Palestine is now a State? There is, I believe, international consensus in favor of a two-state solution to the Israel Palestinian conflict. It is an element of the foreign policy of the United States, the European Union and the G7 States. The vision of such a solution was recently reconfirmed by the United Nations Security Council.3 In the past it was also the policy of Israel.4 In 2009 Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu also spoke in favor, under certain conditions, of a twostate solution, however he has not repeated such a statement and the policy of the present Israeli government opposes a two-state solution.5 Support for the idea of a Palestinian State is, however, separate from the issue of whether, in accordance with international law, a Palestinian State exists today. In 1988 the PLO officially declared independence as the “State of Palestine.” Although entities in statu nascendi (on the way to becoming a State) can be accepted as States, this normally applies to those political communities “controlling a certain area of territory.”6 The 1988 declaration was clearly a symbolic gesture, as the PLO controlled no territory at the time and was situated in Tunis. Nevertheless, some countries recognized it as a State. In 2012 the UNGA granted Palestine “non-member observer State status in the UN.”7 The vote was 138 to 9, with 46 abstentions. The General Assembly Resolution used the phrase “the status of a non-member State”8 but did not recognize it as an observer State. The language used was different from that employed when dealing with the Vatican, which was recognized as an observer State in 1964.9 Following this Resolution, in 2012 the Palestinian Authority, which was created by the Oslo agreement, began terming itself “The State of Palestine,” although this was in clear violation of the Oslo agreements. The 2012 UNGA has been quoted as the basis on which some international organizations agreed to accept Palestine as a full member State. Palestine subsequently joined a large number of international intergovernmental organizations as a member and acceded to major international treaties. The UN Secretariat registered the accession of Palestine to these treaties, a procedure reserved for States and inter-governmental organizations. The procedural rights granted to “Palestine” by the 2012 UNGA Resolution were the procedural rights of a non-member observer State with some exceptions. The rights did not include “the right to vote or to put forward candidates.”10 The Status of “The State of Palestine” and the United Nations General Assembly Robbie Sabel 1. GA Res. 10, UN Doc. A/ES-10/L. 30/Rev.1 (May 9, 2024). https://www.justsecurity.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/ n2412997.pdf 2. Ibid. 3. SC Res 2735, S/RES/2735 (June 10, 2024). 4. See, for example, Office of the Press Secretary, “Joint Understanding Read by President Bush at Annapolis Conference,” Nov. 27, 2007, available at https:// georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/ releases/2007/11/20071127.html 5. Benjamin Netanyahu, “Israeli PM Netanyahu's Bar-Ilan Speech,” delivered June 14, 2009, available at https:// ecf.org.il/issues/issue/70 6. James Crawford, BROWNLE’S PRINCIPLES OF PUBLIC INTERNATIONAL LAW 125 (9th ed., Oxford University Press, 2019). 7. GA Res. 67/19, UN Doc. A/RES/67/19 (Dec. 4, 2012). 8. Id., at para. 4 (“The General Assembly… Decides to accord to Palestine non-member observer State status” (emphasis added)). 9. GA Res. 58/314, UN Doc. A/58/314 (July 16, 2024) (“The General Assembly … Acknowledges that the Holy See, in its Capacity as an Observer State...” (emphasis added)). 10. GA Res. 52/250, UN Doc. A/RES/52/250 (July 13, 1998). O
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjgzNzA=