United Nations, Sept. 13 — India joined 141 other nations in supporting a United Nations General Assembly resolution calling for a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict, with the measure passing by a wide margin despite opposition from Israel, the United States, and a handful of others.
The resolution, introduced by France, endorsed the New York Declaration on the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine. Voting concluded with 142 countries in favour, 10 against — including Israel, the U.S., Argentina and Hungary — and 12 abstentions.
The declaration, the outcome of a July international conference at UN headquarters co-hosted by France and Saudi Arabia, urges Israel to make a public commitment to a two-state framework. It envisions a viable Palestinian state existing alongside Israel as the only sustainable path to peace.
French Ambassador Jérôme Bonnafont told the Assembly that the declaration “lays out a single roadmap to deliver the two-state solution.” He noted that the roadmap includes an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the release of hostages, disarmament of Hamas, and its exclusion from governance in Gaza. The plan also calls for normalization of Israel’s relations with Arab countries and collective regional security guarantees.
Israel’s Ambassador Danny Danon rejected the measure as “one-sided.” He said the resolution would be remembered “not as a step toward peace, only as another hollow gesture that weakens this Assembly’s credibility.”
According to Danon, Hamas stood to gain the most from the endorsement. “Hamas is the biggest winner of any endorsement here today,” he said. “They will declare this resolution as the fruit of October 7.”
The July conference and subsequent resolution came amid continuing war in Gaza and dwindling prospects for a negotiated settlement. UN Secretary-General António Guterres told delegates at the time that “the central question for Middle East peace is implementation of the two-state solution, where two independent, sovereign, democratic States – Israel and Palestine – live side-by-side in peace and security.”
The current conflict traces back to Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israeli towns near Gaza during the Simchat Torah holiday. About 1,200 Israelis were killed and 251 taken hostage in the offensive, dubbed “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood.” Israel responded with sustained bombardment of Gaza.
Since then, more than 66,700 people have been killed — including at least 64,739 Palestinians and 1,983 Israelis — in fighting that has left Gaza’s 2.3 million residents under siege in the densely populated 140-square-mile enclave.
Although a ceasefire and hostage-prisoner exchange agreement took effect on Jan. 19, it broke down two months later when Israel launched airstrikes in March, saying Hamas had refused to release captives and rejected extensions. The conflict has only escalated since.
Most recently, Israeli forces carried out strikes in Doha in what officials described as an effort to eliminate Hamas’s political leadership. The move dramatically widened Israel’s military campaign beyond Gaza, even as ceasefire negotiations remained stalled.
India condemned the strikes in Doha. Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed concern in a phone call with Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani, reiterating New Delhi’s call for restraint and dialogue.
“We support resolution of issues through dialogue and diplomacy, and avoiding escalation,” Modi said. “India stands firmly in support of peace and stability in the region, and against terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.”
