Palestine makes history by taking seat at 79th UN General Assembly session

Palestine took a seat at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday in a "historic moment" for the nation, amid strong resistance by Israel to Palestinian statehood.

The Palestine Authority's envoy, Riyad Mansour, sat at a table marked 'State of Palestine' between UN member states Sri Lanka and Sudan.

The Palestinian Permanent Mission to the UN shared a clip on social media of the Ambassador of Egypt and the President of the General Assembly confirming the new seating arrangement for the State of Palestine delegation.

"This is not merely a procedural matter. This is a historic moment for us," Mahmoud said.

"The State of Palestine should be seated in the General Assembly among member states, full member states."

Israel was not happy with the move, claiming the move was influenced by political favouritism and that membership privileges should be reserved for member states only.

"Any decision and or action that improves the status of the Palestinians…is currently a reward… for terrorism in general and the Hamas terrorists in particular," said Jonathan Miller, deputy Israel ambassador to the United Nations.

The seat for the Palestinian delegation comes amid repeated attempts by Israel to block peace talks that would lead to international acceptance of the State of Palestine, which was declared by the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) in 1988.

It is recognised by 145 of 193 UN member states, but Israel and many of its allies continue to refuse to accept Palestinian statehood, although other forms of recognition exist.

The 79th UN General Assembly, led by President Philemon Yang, took place in New York and will focus on resolving conflicts in Gaza, Haiti, and Ukraine, as well as addressing poverty, inequality, and climate change.

While Palestine is not a full member of the assembly, it is seeking full UN membership. Following a vote in April, the US vetoed its previous attempt to become a member state.

On 10 May, the United Nations General Assembly backed Palestine's bid to become a full member, recommending to the UN Security Council to "reconsider the matter favourably".

The assembly asserted that Palestinians deserved full membership, which would grant them additional rights, including observer status and the ability to submit proposals and amendments.

The resolution was supported by 143 votes, nine against, including the US and Israel, and 25 abstaining.

To be a full member, Palestine would need a vote by the General Assembly and require a Security Council recommendation.

The United Nations General Assembly is likely to vote on a Palestinian draft resolution next week demanding Israel end its "unlawful presence" in the Palestinian territory within six months.