The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) has backed a Palestinian bid to become a full UN member by recognizing it as qualified to join and recommending the UN Security Council “reconsider the matter favorably”.<br />The assembly adopted a resolution with 143 votes in favor and nine against — including the US and Israel — while 25 countries abstained.<br /><br />It does not give the Palestinians full UN membership but recognizes them as qualified to join.<br /><br />“We want peace, we want freedom,” Palestinian UN Ambassador Riyad Mansour told the General Assembly before the vote.<br /><br />“A yes vote is a vote for Palestinian existence, it is not against any state … It is an investment in peace.<br /><br />“Voting yes is the right thing to do,” he said in remarks that drew applause.
