In an expected move, the United Nations General Assembly last night voted overwhelmingly to recognize Palestinian Authority sovereignty over all of Judea, Samaria and Gaza, including eastern portions of Jerusalem. The resolution, drafted by the Arab states, passed by a vote of 140 (including states of the European Union) to 6, with 11 abstentions. Arab diplomats said the resolution was meant to refute the implied position of US President George Bush, to the effect Israel would not be expected to give up all post-1967 lands, nor to accept Arab refugees into its borders.
Israeli Ambassador Dan Gillerman denounced the resolution, saying that it was intended to "undermine the negotiating process and not to further it." He also noted that it failed to condemn terrorism against Israel or to recognize that bilateral compromise was necessary for agreement to be reached between Israelis and Arabs.
PLO UN Observer Nasser al-Kidwa said the resolution was "of extreme importance." According to al-Kidwa, it recognized the lands captured by Israel in the 1967 Six Day War as "territory under military occupation", and that the Palestinian people "have the right to self-determination and to exercise sovereignty on their territory."
However, it is far from clear that sovereignty is the ultimate goal of the PLO. On January 1, 2002, the Fatah terrorist organization - led by PLO chief Yasser Arafat - declared that "a legitimate Palestinian entity forms the most important weapon that Arabs have against Israel, the outpost of the imperialist powers." The declaration was part of a communique issued marking the 37th anniversary of Fatah's first terrorist attack, in 1965.
Israeli Ambassador Dan Gillerman denounced the resolution, saying that it was intended to "undermine the negotiating process and not to further it." He also noted that it failed to condemn terrorism against Israel or to recognize that bilateral compromise was necessary for agreement to be reached between Israelis and Arabs.
PLO UN Observer Nasser al-Kidwa said the resolution was "of extreme importance." According to al-Kidwa, it recognized the lands captured by Israel in the 1967 Six Day War as "territory under military occupation", and that the Palestinian people "have the right to self-determination and to exercise sovereignty on their territory."
However, it is far from clear that sovereignty is the ultimate goal of the PLO. On January 1, 2002, the Fatah terrorist organization - led by PLO chief Yasser Arafat - declared that "a legitimate Palestinian entity forms the most important weapon that Arabs have against Israel, the outpost of the imperialist powers." The declaration was part of a communique issued marking the 37th anniversary of Fatah's first terrorist attack, in 1965.