New York: India has reiterated its support for a two-state solution for the Israel-Palestine conflict amid the ongoing war in Gaza, emphasising that such a solution entails the Palestinian people's ability to live in an independent country with secure borders with due regard to the security needs of Israel. The Indian envoy to the UN also called on all parties to resume direct peace negotiations in the matter at the earliest.
In a meeting at the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday after the veto cast by the United States on Palestine's application for admission to the UN, India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ruchira Kamboj said, "India is committed to supporting a Two-State solution where the Palestinian people are able to live freely in an independent country within secure borders, with due regard to the security needs of Israel. To arrive at a lasting solution, we urge all parties to foster conditions conducive to resuming direct peace negotiations at an early date."
Kamboj said India hoped that the issue of Palestine's admission to the UN would be reconsidered in due course, and that Palestine’s endeavour to become a member of the UN will get endorsed. She also reiterated that the large-scale loss of civilian lives and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is unacceptable and that international humanitarian law must be respected by everyone under all circumstances.
"The terror attacks in Israel on 7 October were shocking, and they deserve our unequivocal condemnation. There can be no justification for terrorism and hostage-taking. India has a longstanding and uncompromising position against terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, and we demand the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages," she added, while urging all parties to come together and ramp up humanitarian aid in the Palestinian enclave.
US vetoed resolution on Palestine
On April 18, the US vetoed a widely-supported resolution in the UN Security Council on a Palestinian bid to be granted full membership, effectively blocking the way for the recognition of a Palestinian state. The 15-nation Council voted on the draft resolution that would have recommended to the UN General Assembly "that the state of Palestine be admitted to membership in the United Nations".
The resolution got 12 votes in its favour, with Switzerland and the UK abstaining and the US casting its veto. To be adopted, the resolution required at least nine Council members voting in its favour, without any vetoes by any of its five permanent members - China, Russia, France, the UK and the US. This means that Palestine will remain a "non-member observer state" at the UN, the status granted by the UNGA in 2012.
"The United States continues to strongly support a two-state solution. This vote does not reflect opposition to Palestinian statehood but instead is an acknowledgement that it will only come from direct negotiations between the parties," Deputy US Ambassador to the UN Robert Wood told the Security Council, adding that there are “unresolved questions” as to whether Palestine meets the criteria to be considered a State.
Palestine's status in the UN
It is important that 140 of the 193 members of the UN General Assembly have already recognised Palestine as a state. Palestine had first submitted its request for admission as a full UN member in 2011, which failed because the Palestinians didn't get the required minimum support of nine of the Security Council's 15 members. They went to the General Assembly and by more than a two-thirds majority succeeded in having their status raised from a UN observer to a non-member observer state in November 2012.
On April 2, 2024, Palestine again sent a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres requesting that its application for full UN membership be considered again. This came almost six months after the Israel-Hamas war broke out, when Hamas militants killed 1,200 people in Israel. Israel's devastating military assault in Gaza has killed nearly 34,000 people and triggered a humanitarian catastrophe, leaving 85 per cent of the population homeless.
The UN Security Council has long endorsed a vision of two states living side by side within secure and recognized borders. Palestinians want a state in the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza Strip, all territory captured by Israel in 1967. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the US veto on April 18 as "unfair, unethical, and unjustified".
The war was sparked by Hamas' attack on October 7 into southern Israel, which killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli authorities, who say another 250 people were taken hostage. Hamas and other groups are holding about 130 people, including the remains of about 30, Israeli authorities say. Israel's retaliatory assault on Hamas has killed more than 34,500 people, most of them women and children, according to health authorities in Gaza.
(with inputs from agencies)
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