NEW YORK, New York - The United Kingdom has abstained from voting on a UN General Assembly resolution that paves the way for Palestine to become a sovereign state and full member of the United Nations.

143 countries supported the resolution on Friday, including U.S. allies Australia and France.

Canada and Germany, like the UK abstained. The United States voted against the resolution.

The observer for the State of Palestine Riyad Mansour told the Assembly: "I stand before you as more than 35,000 Palestinians have been killed, 80,000 have been maimed, 2 million have been displaced and everything has been destroyed." Palestinians in Gaza are hunted by bombs and bullets in an ever-narrowing space, famine is setting in and, instead of opening crossings, Israel has closed them. "At the time where the world was calling to flood Gaza with humanitarian aid and calling for a ceasefire, Israel imposed a drought," he emphasized, adding: "Its plan has not changed - destroy and displace." Recalling that he "has stood hundreds of times before at this podium" - often in tragic circumstances - he underscored that he has never done so ahead of a more significant vote than the one about to take place - "a historic one". He stressed that, while Palestinians did not write the Charter of the United Nations - nor enact international law - "we just demanded to see them applied to us - and have been, until now, denied their protection".

Stating that occupation, colonialism, death and destruction are not Palestinians' fate - they are imposed - he underscored: "But freedom is our sole destiny." Israel has made clear that it wants to destroy Palestinian Statehood, and he questioned what it means to support a two-State solution if one allows for the destruction of the Palestinian State. Palestine has been - for generations - "the ultimate test for humanity's ability to live up to its promises", he stressed, calling on those who invoked the Charter during negotiations to abide by Palestinians' right to self-determination, which is guaranteed by that document. Voting "yes" today is a vote for Palestinian existence - it is not against any State, but it is against attempts to deprive Palestinians of a State. He added: "In simple words, voting yes is the right thing to do."

The representative of the United Kingdom said her delegation remains firmly committed to a two-State solution that guarantees security and stability for both the Israeli and Palestinian people. "The UK remains firmly committed to a two-state solution that guarantees security and stability for both the Israeli and the Palestinian people," UK Ambassador to the UN Barbara Woodward told the General Assembly on Friday.

"As we said in the Security Council last month, we are abstaining on this resolution because we believe that the first step towards achieving this goal is resolving the immediate crisis in Gaza. The fastest way to end the conflict is to secure a deal which gets the hostages out and allows for a pause in the fighting in Gaza. We must, then, work together to turn that pause into a sustainable, permanent ceasefire."

"Setting out a horizon for a Palestinian state should be one of the vital conditions for moving from a pause in the fighting to a sustainable ceasefire. Recognising a Palestinian State, including at the UN, should be part of that process. As my Foreign Secretary has said, "while this shouldn't be at the start of a new process, it doesn't have to be at the very end of the process."

"We remain deeply concerned about the prospect of a major operation in Rafah. We are clear that we would not support this unless there is a very clear plan for how to protect civilians, who must be safe and able to access food, water and medical care. We have not seen that plan, so in these circumstances we would not support a major operation in Rafah," Ambassador Woodward said, echoing the policy of the United States.

"The UK is doing all it can to reach a long-term solution to this crisis. In addition to our support for a deal which would secure a pause in the fighting and the immediate release of all hostages, we are pushing as hard as we can to get aid to Palestinian civilians; working with partners to deescalate the situation in the region; and building momentum towards a lasting peace."

"The UK has offered the Palestinian Authority our support as the new Palestinian government implements much-needed reforms. An effective Palestinian Authority is vital for lasting peace and progress towards a two-state solution," Woodward said.

"And just as the PA must act, so must Israel. This means releasing frozen funds, halting settlement expansion and holding to account those responsible for extremist settler violence. Last week, the UK announced a second package of sanctions targeting individuals and groups directly responsible for egregious violence against Palestinian civilians. The Israeli authorities must put a stop to this."

In conclusion, we will continue to work urgently to bring the Gaza conflict to a sustainable end as quickly as possible, and to build a credible and irreversible pathway towards a two-state solution and lasting peace," the UK envoy to the UN said.

143 countries voted in support of the resolution: Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Antigua-Barbuda, Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Costa Rica, Cte d'Ivoire, Cuba, Cyprus, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, France, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Lesotho, Libya, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Russia, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Somalia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Syria, Tajikistan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Turkey, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, United Republic of Tanzania, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Those who voted against were: Argentina, Czech Republic, Hungary, Israel, Micronesia, United States, Papa New Guinea, Nauru, and Palau.

Countries that along with the United Kingdom that abstained were: Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Fiji, Finland, Georgia, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malawi, Marshall Islands, Monaco, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Paraguay, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Kingdom, and Vanuatu.

The United Nations General Assembly vote supported a call on the Security Council to reconsider Palestine's application for full membership in the United Nations, following the United States delegation's veto against a Security Council resolution, in April.

Dennis Francis of Trinidad and Tobago, the President of the General Assembly's seventy-eighth session, said that, for almost the entire lifespan of the United Nations, peace in the Middle East, and for the people of Palestine in particular, has remained elusive. Today, this untenable situation continues to deteriorate at an alarming speed - bringing countless innocent victims into its deadly fold and pushing the region further to the brink of full-scale catastrophe. While numerous diplomatic efforts and UN resolutions have been deployed, none have yet quelled the current cycle of death and destruction. "Yet, this is not a moment for the international community to falter or to look away," he stressed, adding that "the horrendous events of the last seven months have only hastened the urgency of achieving a just, comprehensive and lasting peaceful solution to the situation in the Middle East".

"As today's United Nations, we cannot lose sight of the history we inherit - or the bold proposition that brought our Organization into being: Peace for all," he declared. The only viable path towards a just, comprehensive and lasting peace in the Middle East is through the two-State solution - with Israel and Palestine living side by side in peace and security, in line with international law, the Charter of the United Nations and relevant UN resolutions. Most immediately, he urged the parties to this conflict - with the support of those with leverage - "to do their utmost to secure an agreement of ceasefire that will end the suffering, end the bloodshed, free all hostages, protect innocent civilians and ensure immediate, unhindered access to humanitarian aid, without conditions, for all who are in dire need". While "we have lost too much time," "no problem of human relations is insoluble", he said, echoing the words of diplomat and Nobel Peace Prize winner Ralph Bunche, urging all Member States "to seize the opportunity before us today - to unify our purpose and our actions" to help bring lasting peace, to save lives and to end violence.

The representative of Israel said that while Holocaust Remembrance Day is commemorated this week, "this shameless body has chosen to reward the modern-day Nazis with rights and privileges", he said. Today's destructive vote will only open the doors of the United Nations to the terrorists-supporting Palestinian Authority, which does not even have control of its own territory. Hamas controls Gaza and has also taken over Palestinian neighbourhoods in the West Bank. The group is predicted to win a Palestinian election. "You are about to grant privileges and rights to the future terror State of Hamas," he said. In the years to come, the Assembly will have to explain how - in opposition to all morality and the Charter of the United Nations - it supported mass murderers - "the Hitler of our time". If Hamas rises to power, the Palestinian representative who just spoke here will be recalled, and the UN will have a representative of Hamas sit in this Hall. "Today another travesty is being committed by the Assembly," he said.

According to the Charter of the United Nations, its membership can be granted to all "peace-loving States", he recalled, adding: The admission of any such State to membership is decided by the Assembly on the recommendation of the Security Council. "With today's vote, you're totally bypassing the Security Council in violation of the Charter," he said. The Palestinians are the exact opposite of peace-loving. They have only tried to destroy Israel. The Palestinians indoctrinate their children to murder Israelis and commit terrorism. When Israel defends itself, the Palestinian representative comes here shedding his crocodile tears. When it comes to the lives of Israelis and Jews, the Charter "means nothing to you", he deplored. "I will hold up a mirror - this is your mirror so you can see exactly what you are inflicting upon the UN Charter with this destructive vote," he said, and shredded a few pages of a UN Charter booklet before leaving the podium.