Middle East: UN backs two-state solution without Hamas

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The UN General Assembly has overwhelmingly approved a resolution supporting a declaration that calls for “tangible, timebound, and irreversible steps” toward a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians, without the involvement of Hamas.The seven-page declaration stems from a July UN conference hosted by Saudi Arabia and France on the decades-long conflict. The United States and Israel boycotted the meeting.The resolution passed with 142 votes in favor, 10 against, and 12 abstentions.Israel rejects two-state solutionIsrael rejected a UN declaration that outlines steps towards a two-state solution between Israel and Palestinians.In a post on X, Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oren Marmorstein said the declaration demonstrated the General Assembly was a “political circus detached from reality.””In the dozens of clauses of the declaration endorsed by this resolution, there is not a single mention that Hamas is a terrorist organization,” Marmorstein wrote.Hamas is designated as a terror organization by Israel, the US, EU, Germany and others.”The resolution does not advance a solution of peace, on the contrary, it encourages Hamas to continue the war,” he continued.The document called for Hamas to end its rule in the Palestinian enclave and hand over its weapons to the Palestinian Authority with the support of a temporary international stabilization mission. It also called for the release of Israeli hostages. In turn, Israel is called on to cease settlement activities in the occupied West Bank and end its military strikes on the Gaza Strip.On Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed there “will never be a Palestinian state,” as he signed off on the controversial expansion of a Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank.