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Palestinians win implicit U.N. recognition of sovereign state
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World News | Thu Nov 29, 2012 6:46pm EST

Palestinians win implicit U.N. recognition of sovereign state

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A Palestinian boy in traditional clothes waves a Palestinain flag during a rally in the West Bank city of Ramallah November 29, 2012. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas appealed to the U.N. General Assembly to recognize Palestinian statehood by supporting a resolution to upgrade the U.N. observer status of the Palestinian Authority from 'entity' to 'non-member state.' REUTERS/Marko Djurica
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Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas addresses the United Nations Generally Assembly at UN Headquarters, in New York, November 29, 2012. Abbas appealed to the U.N. General Assembly to recognize Palestinian statehood by supporting a resolution to upgrade the U.N. observer status of the Palestinian Authority from 'entity' to 'non-member state.' REUTERS/Chip East
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Palestinians celebrate as they take part in a rally in the West Bank city of Ramallah November 29, 2012. The 193-nation U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly approved a resolution on Thursday to upgrade the Palestinian Authority's observer status at the United Nations from 'entity' to 'non-member state,' implicitly recognizing a Palestinian state. REUTERS/Marko Djurica
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A Palestinian man shouts slogans during a rally in the West Bank city of Ramallah November 29, 2012. The 193-nation U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly approved a resolution on Thursday to upgrade the Palestinian Authority's observer status at the United Nations from 'entity' to 'non-member state,' implicitly recognizing a Palestinian state. REUTERS/Marko Djurica
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Palestinians shout slogans during a rally in the West Bank city of Ramallah November 29, 2012. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas appealed to the U.N. General Assembly to recognize Palestinian statehood by supporting a resolution to upgrade the U.N. observer status of the Palestinian Authority from 'entity' to 'non-member state.' REUTERS/Marko Djurica
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Palestinian supporters cheer and wave a flag as members of their delegation are whisked away by security after the vote during a meeting at UN Headquarters, in New York, November 29, 2012. The 193-nation U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly approved a resolution on Thursday to upgrade the Palestinian Authority's observer status at the United Nations from 'entity' to 'non-member state,' implicitly recognizing a Palestinian state. REUTERS/Chip East
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Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (R) and United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, listen during the Special Meeting of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, in observance of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, at the U.N. headquarters in New York, November 29, 2012. REUTERS/Chip East
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Palestinians hold posters with an image of the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and wave Palestinian flags during a rally opposite to part of Israel's controversial barrier in the West Bank city of Bethlehem November 29, 2012. REUTERS/Ammar Awad
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Banners depicting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas cover a wall during a rally in the West Bank city of Hebron, supporting the resolution that would change the Palestinian Authority's United Nations observer status from 'entity' to 'non-member state' November 29, 2012. The U.N. General Assembly is set to implicitly recognize a sovereign state of Palestine on Thursday despite threats by the United States and Israel to punish the Palestinian Authority by withholding much-needed funds for the West Bank government. REUTERS/Ammar Awad
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Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (R) and United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, sit before the Special Meeting of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, in observance of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, at the U.N. headquarters in New York, November 29, 2012. REUTERS/Chip East
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Labourers put up a banner depicting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas before a rally in the West Bank city of Ramallah, supporting the resolution that would change the Palestinian Authority's United Nations observer status from 'entity' to 'non-member state,' November 29, 2012. The U.N. General Assembly is set to implicitly recognize a sovereign state of Palestine on Thursday despite threats by the United States and Israel to punish the Palestinian Authority by withholding much-needed funds for the West Bank government. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman
11/18
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People look at a pizza displayed outside a restaurant, with toppings arranged to depict a Palestinian flag, in the West Bank city of Ramallah November 29, 2012. The U.N. General Assembly is set to implicitly recognize a sovereign state of Palestine on Thursday despite threats by the United States and Israel to punish the Palestinian Authority by withholding much-needed funds for the West Bank government. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman
12/18
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Israeli ultranationalist right-wing protesters hold a placard depicting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman during a demonstration against the Palestinian Authority's efforts to secure a diplomatic upgrade at the United Nations, outside the U.N. offices in the West Bank village of Jabel Mukaber, near Jerusalem November 29, 2012. The U.N. General Assembly is set to implicitly recognize a sovereign state of Palestine on Thursday despite threats by the United States and Israel to punish the Palestinian Authority by withholding much-needed funds for the West Bank government. The placard reads, ' Mahmoud Abbas' workers' REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
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Palestinians hold posters of President Mahmoud Abbas during a rally in support of Abbas's efforts to secure a diplomatic upgrade at the United Nations, in Gaza City November 29, 2012. The U.N. General Assembly is set to implicitly recognize a sovereign state of Palestine on Thursday despite threats by the United States and Israel to punish the Palestinian Authority by withholding much-needed funds for the West Bank government. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem
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A Palestinian boy holds a flag as he stands atop a car during a rally in the West Bank city of Hebron, supporting the resolution that would change the Palestinian Authority's United Nations observer status from 'entity' to 'non-member state' November 29, 2012. REUTERS/Ammar Awad
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Palestinians wave flags during a rally in support of President Mahmoud Abbas' efforts to secure a diplomatic upgrade at the United Nations, in the West Bank city of Ramallah November 25, 2012. REUTERS/Marko Djurica
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Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird addresses the United Nations Generally Assembly at UN Headquarters, in New York, November 29, 2012. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas appealed to the U.N. General Assembly to recognize Palestinian statehood by supporting a resolution to upgrade the U.N. observer status of the Palestinian Authority from 'entity' to 'non-member state.' REUTERS/Chip East
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Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas reacts to applause from the crowd as he arrives to address the United Nations Generally Assembly at UN Headquarters, in New York, November 29, 2012. Abbas appealed to the U.N. General Assembly to recognize Palestinian statehood by supporting a resolution to upgrade the U.N. observer status of the Palestinian Authority from 'entity' to 'non-member state.' REUTERS/Chip East
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By Louis Charbonneau | UNITED NATIONS

UNITED NATIONS The 193-nation U.N. General Assembly on Thursday overwhelmingly approved the de facto recognition of a sovereign Palestinian state after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called on the world body to issue its long overdue "birth certificate."

There were 138 votes in favor, nine against and 41 abstentions. Three countries did not take part in the vote to upgrade the Palestinian Authority's observer status at the United Nations to "non-member state" from "entity."

The assembly approved the upgrade despite threats by the United States and Israel to punish the Palestinians by withholding funds for the West Bank government. U.N. envoys said Israel might avoid harsh retaliation as long as the Palestinians did not seek to join the International Criminal Court.

The much-anticipated vote came after Abbas denounced Israel for its "aggressive policies and the perpetration of war crimes" from the U.N. podium, remarks that elicited a furious response from the Jewish state.

"Sixty-five years ago on this day, the United Nations General Assembly adopted resolution 181, which partitioned the land of historic Palestine into two states and became the birth certificate for Israel," Abbas told the 193-nation assembly after receiving a standing ovation.

"The General Assembly is called upon today to issue a birth certificate of the reality of the State of Palestine," he said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded quickly, condemning Abbas' critique of Israel as "hostile and poisonous," and full of "false propaganda."

"These are not the words of a man who wants peace," Netanyahu also said in a statement released by his office in Israel.

At least 17 European nations voted in favor of the Palestinian resolution, including Austria, France, Italy, Norway and Spain. Abbas had focused his lobbying efforts on Europe, which supplies much of the aid the Palestinian Authority relies on. Britain, Germany and others chose to abstain.

The Czech Republic was unique in Europe, joining the United States, Israel, Canada, Panama and tiny Pacific Island states likes Nauru, Palau and Micronesia in voting against the move.

After the vote, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice called for the immediate resumption of peace talks.

"The Palestinian people will wake up tomorrow and find that little about their lives has changed save that the prospects of a durable peace have only receded," she said.

"The United States calls upon both the parties to resume direct talks without preconditions on all the issues that divide them and we pledge that the United States will be there to support the parties vigorously in such efforts," Rice said.

She added that both parties should "avoid any further provocative actions in the region, in New York or elsewhere."

(Andrew Quinn in Washington, Noah Browning in Ramallah, Jeffrey Heller in Jerusalem, Michelle Nichols in New York, Robert Mueller in Prague, Gabriela Baczynska and Reuters bureau in Europe and elsewhere; Editing by Peter Cooney)

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