In the landmark vote in New York, the United Nations General Assembly on November 29 overwhelmingly backed a resolution recognising Palestine within the 1967 borders as a non-member observer state. It was a major diplomatic coup for the Palestinians but a stinging slap in the face for Israel, which had lobbied hard against it, arguing that it would cripple peace hopes.
Israel however revealed plans on November 30 to build 3,000 settler homes in east Jerusalem and the West Bank. Media reports said some construction would be in a highly contentious area of the West Bank known as E1, a corridor that runs between the easternmost edge of annexed east Jerusalem and the Maaleh Adumim settlement. “It is an act of Israeli aggression against a state, and the world needs to take up its responsibilities,” a senior PLO official Hanan Ashrawi was reported as saying.