NZ to vote for Palestinian statehood

The NZ Herald reports:

New Zealand is to vote in favour of a resolution giving Palestine UN recognition as a non-member observer state, Foreign Minister Murray McCully has announced.

However Mr McCully said the UN resolution was “a poor substitute for direct negotiations” between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

The United Nations General Assembly is due to vote this morning on a resolution which would see the Palestinian status upgraded role from an observer entity to that of a non-member observer state.

Mr McCully said the primary reason for voting in favour of the resolution is it reflects the long-standing policy of the New Zealand Government.

“New Zealand is a long-standing supporter of the two state solution. We believe that Israel and a Palestinian state should exist side by side, each respecting the other’s right to peace. And we believe that they should arrive at that conclusion through direct talks.

“As I stated in my address to the UN General Assembly earlier this year, we have never regarded a UN resolution as an adequate substitute for direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. That is the only way of achieving a durable solution to this question.

The vote will not achieve an actual Palestinian state. That will only happen when there is a full peace settlement with Israel, which must involve land for peace (but land concessions without peace is not acceptable).

Mr McCully said officials have discussed the proposed text of the resolution with Palestinian representatives, who have “delivered a resolution that is moderate, constructive, and reflects our commitment to a two-state solution”.

“In our explanation of vote to the UN our Permanent Representative Hon Jim McLay will make clear our absolute commitment to Israel’s right to safety and security, and condemn the actions of Hamas extremists in recent weeks,” Mr McCully said.

“However, we will also assert our support for the moderate leadership of President [Mahmoud] Abbas, Prime Minister [Salam] Fayyad and others who are working to make a two-state solution a viable goal.

“The New Zealand Government is under no illusions as to the utility of a UN resolution. It will solve nothing. But in the absence of the direct talks we have called for, we will deal with the UN resolution on its merits.”

Which is code for we don’t think it will achieve anything, but we don’t want to vote against it, as we do support Palestine becoming a state.

For those interested, the only other current non-member observer state in the Holy See. Switzerland used to be one, but joined fully in 2002.

The Cook Islands and Niue are treated as non-member states but this is unofficial.

Taiwan is blocked by China from gaining membership.

Of interest West Germany was an observer only from 1952 to 1973.