May 11—In an overwhelming vote in favor, by 143-9, with 25 abstentions, the UN General Assembly’s 10th Emergency Special Session passed a draft resolution May 10, that “the State of Palestine is qualified for membership in the United Nations” under its Charter rules. The Special Session recommends that the 15-member UN Security Council reconsider the matter “with a favorable outcome.” On April 18, the United States vetoed a UNSC resolution presented by Algeria on behalf of Palestine’s full UN membership, backed by 12 other member nations.

Today’s resolution was prepared by the United Arab Emirates, current chair of the UN Arab Group, and sponsored by 70 other countries, the New York Times yesterday. In introducing the resolution, U.A.E. Ambassador Mohamed Abushahab said that the “vast majority of countries in this hall are fully aware of the legitimacy of the Palestinian bid and the justness of their cause, which faces fierce attempts to suppress it and render it meaningless today.”

Those countries that voted “no” include the U.S., Israel, Argentina, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Palau, Nauru, Micronesia and Papua New Guinea. Although the UNGA doesn’t have the authority to grant Palestinian membership, it did vote to upgrade Palestinian “rights and privileges” which will take effect at the beginning of the new session on September 10, UN News reported May 10. Some of those rights and privileges include being seated among member states in alphabetical order and making statements on behalf of a group; submit proposals and amendments and introduce them; and the right of members of the Palestinian delegation to be elected as officers of the plenary and the Main Committees of the General Assembly.

The U.S. voted against today’s resolution, and in statements yesterday, U.S. Deputy Permanent Representative Robert Wood indicated a U.S. veto is likely when the current resolution goes to the Security Council. “We’ve been very clear from the beginning there is a process for obtaining full membership in the United Nations, and this effort by some of the Arab countries and the Palestinians is to try to go around that,” Associated Press reported him saying. “We have said from the beginning the best way to ensure Palestinian full membership in the UN is to do that through negotiations with Israel. That remains our position.” Just where Israel’s negotiations stands as the process for full UN membership he did not say.