We greatly welcome the adoption of the draft resolution for granting Palestine “non-member observer state” status at the UN by 138 votes in favour, which is higher than the number of countries recognizing Palestine as a state, in the voting carried out in the United Nations General Assembly session held in New York on 29 November.

As an expression at the highest level of the support we provide to the Palestine cause, H.E. Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey, represented Turkey in person during the voting. H.E. Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu indicated in his address to the UN General Assembly before the voting, that it is not an option but an ethical, political, strategic and legal obligation for the international community to recognize the right to self-determination and the right to a state granted to the people of Palestine by a resolution adopted by the United Nations in 1947. He emphasized that the resolution on the non-member observer state status is just an initial step and that the oppression and injustice having been imposed on the people of Palestine for decades will not be considered as complete until the flag of the Palestinian State with East Jerusalem as its capital, waves, as a full member, in the United Nations among the other flags, on the basis of a two state solution reached through peace within the borders of 1967. H.E. Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu addressing all the Palestinians from Hebron to Ramallah, from Jerusalem to Gaza, expressed that the people of the Republic of Turkey will never leave alone our Palestinian brothers and sisters, and called upon the international community to exert every effort for a comprehensive, fair and lasting peace; and stated that Palestine should be given its rightful place within the international community.

In the voting which took place following the speech of H.E. Mr Ahmet Davutoğlu, the resolution on granting the State of Palestine “non-member observer state” status in the United Nations was adopted by a vote of 9 against, 41 abstentions and 138 in favour.

With this historic voting, Palestine took a great step towards gaining the position it deserves as an independent and sovereign state recognized by the international community. This crucial resolution turning a new page in the history of the Palestinian people, which is full of oppression, persecution and grief, constitutes a meaningful message to the members of the international community, in particular United Nations Security Council members. We wish that this significant message given to the entire international community, particularly members of the UN Security Council, by this overwhelmingly supported resolution granting Palestine observer state status, is perceived prudently.

It is unrealistic to expect the establishment of peace in the region without bringing a solution to the Palestine issue. Despite the good-intentioned and constructive efforts of the Palestinian leadership towards furthering the peace process on the basis of a two-state vision, Israel continues to prevent the establishment of a fair and lasting peace with its policies that render the adoption of a two-state solution impossible.

Turkey believes that the historical step made by Palestine today will contribute to the establishment of a fair, lasting and comprehensive peace and in this framework, calls upon the international community and the United Nations to ask for the resumption of comprehensive peace negotiations between the parties on the basis of two-states as soon as possible.

We will resolutely maintain our efforts for Palestine to be granted the UN membership in the near future with our other international partners and will continue to defend the just cause of our Palestinian brothers and sisters.