138 out of 193 UN members have voted for a resolution to grant Palestine status of a UN observer, 9 states voted against, 41 abstained, 5 did not vote. The resolution expresses hope that the Security Council will give a positive reply to the application of Palestine filed on September 23, 2011, to become a full-fledged member of the organization, RIA Novosti reports.
Palestine has been occupied since 1967.
Israel believes that Palestine will not be successful in the UN. US representative Susan Rice calls the resolution unproductive. Canada, Czech Republic, Panama, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Marshall Islands voted against the resolution.
Russian representative Vitaly Churkin hopes that Israel and Palestine will renew negotiations. He added that Russia will continue encouraging the US, UN and EU as international mediators in the process.
Israel considers the resolution useless and will not change its attitude towards Palestine. Moustafa Barguti of Palestine believes that the new status would expand the range of tools to stop occupation.
