Statehood

At around midnight, Palestine was finally recognised by the United Nations as a state.

In an historic vote in the UN General Assembly, which has been a long time coming, 138 Member States voted in favour of recognising Palestine as a non-member observer state. 9 states, including the usual suspects of the US and Israel, voted against. 41 states, including Germany and the UK, took the cowardly on-the-fence option of abstaining.

I was with friends watching the vote on the television but, once the result was certain, those of us who can walk on the street made our way straight to Unknown Soldier's Square in Jeundi to meet other friends and join in the celebrations.

The streets around the square were jammed with cars, with people hanging out of the windows and sunroofs, waving flags and holding posters of Abbas and Arafat. Fireworks were let off, while car horns blared and young men gathered in the street, cheering and chanting. Unfortunately, my camera was not really up to the task of capturing what was happening.

The majority of those celebrating were Fatah supporters, waving their yellow flags and chanting 'Abu Mazen!', the nickname for Mahmoud Abbas. There was the occasional red PFLP or green Hamas flag in the mix.

Just before we went into my friend's house, I met an elderly man sitting on a step. I said to him, 'Mabrouk!', which means congratulations. He told me he was very happy and he gave me a gift of a giant Palestinian flag. I will treasure it.

For many, particularly those refugees who still claim the right of return to their homes which are now in Israel, accepting this status seems a concession, an acceptance of the loss of so much of their homeland, the progression of which is clearly shown in this map.

But many are happy to have finally received recognition at the UN, and see it as a significant expression of the right of the Palestinian people to self determination.

It also opens many doors for Palestine to access the International Criminal Court, the International Court of Justice, and all of the UN agencies.

Perhaps, in time, the victims of Israel's violations of international humanitarian and human rights law will finally have justice.