Suha Arafat yesterday described the UN’s decision to give her country the status of an observer state as “the beginning of the Palestinian Spring”.
The widow of revered Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat said the vote fulfilled her husband’s dream of a Palestinian state.
“This is a great moment and as it unfolded I was seeing Yasser’s face smiling from heaven,” she said when contacted at her Sliema apartment.
In Gaza, Palestinians cheered and cars honked on Thursday night when the vote was taken at the UN General Assembly in New York.
Karl Schembri, a Maltese who works in Gaza, described the scene as “one crazy party” on his Facebook wall.
“Carcades must have halved the strip’s fuel stocks,” he wrote the next morning, welcoming the decision with the words “Good morning Palestine”.
Mr Schembri’s half-joking comment on fuel stocks was accompanied with a smiley but in many ways it was a poignant reminder of the reality Gazans face on a daily basis. The UN vote will not change their situation.
According to international affairs columnist Anthony Manduca, an executive with sister newspaper The Sunday Times, the decision does not create a Palestinian state but recognises it as such.
It is a symbolic gesture but Mr Manduca believes it is also an important milestone in the Palestinians’ quest for statehood.
With 138 votes in favour, 41 abstentions and only nine against, the international community showed it was firmly behind a two-state solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, he added.
In practical terms, the move means Palestinians can now have access to a number of UN bodies, such as the International Criminal Court.
Malta voted in favour of the upgraded status consistent with its long-held foreign policy to support the creation of a Palestinian state.
Foreign Minister Francis Zammit Dimech believes that although the decision will not have an immediate effect on the lives of Palestinians, it is “a strong symbolic message”.
But the vote also had political reverberations, he added, because it would strengthen the hand of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, a moderate force.
“The real solution obviously rests with the continuation of the peace talks and these can only succeed within the framework of a two-state solution where Israel’s right to exist in peace and security is guaranteed,” Dr Zammit Dimech said.
Peace talks between the Israelis and Palestinians have stalled and no direct negotiations have taken place since 2010, in part because of Israel’s continued building of illegal settlements in the West Bank.
The UN vote could make Israel more intransigent in its dealings with the Palestinians, according to Mr Manduca.
“Israel will now have to acknowledge that it will be dealing with a recognised member of the international community,” he said, adding it was unfortunate the US voted against the resolution.
The symbolism may lose its lustre in Palestine as the status quo continues to gnaw at the quality of life of ordinary Palestinians. But, in a decades-old conflict marked by many disheartening moments and very little tangible progress, symbolism can provide a rallying call.
Ms Arafat seems to believe so: “We feel different now. We feel we have a state and this gives us an opportunity to move forward.”
When the symbolism will translate into a Palestinian state on the ground, is another matter altogether.
kurtsansone@timesofmalta.com
How EU members voted
Favour (14): Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Portugal, Spain and Sweden.
Against (1): Czech Republic.
Abstain (12): Bulgaria, Estonia, Germany, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, The Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and the UK.