UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations General Assembly Friday voted, by an overwhelming majority, to grant new “rights and privileges” to Palestine and called on the Security Council to favourably reconsider its request to become a full member of the UN. The 193-member world body approved the Arab and Palestinian sponsored resolution by a vote of 143-9 with 25 abstentions. Pakistan backed the resolution which “determines” that a state of Palestine is qualified for membership and recommends that the Security Council reconsider its request “favourably.” The renewed push for full Palestinian membership in the UN comes as Israeli aggression in Gaza has put the more than 75-year-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict at center stage. At numerous Council and Assembly meetings, the humanitarian crisis facing the Palestinians in Gaza and the killing of more than 35,000 people in the enclave, have generated worldwide outrage over Israeli atrocities. The United States vetoed a widely backed Council resolution on April 18 that would have paved the way for full United Nations membership for Palestine, a goal the Palestinians have long sought and Israel, with the support of its powerful allies, has worked to prevent. US Deputy Ambassador Robert Wood made clear on Thursday that the Biden administration opposed the Assembly resolution. The United States was among the nine countries voting against it, along with Israel. Speaking before the vote, Pakistan’s UN Ambassador Munir Akram said there would come a day when Israel would be held accountable for the crimes committed against Palestinians, especially in Gaza. The insults hurled today – a reference to the highly provocative speech by Israel’s UN Ambassador Gild Erdan – were “the arrogance of the aggressor”, reflecting the impunity of the occupier.and trampling inherent and the UN Charter given rights of Palestinian people to self-determination, the Pakistani envoy said. He expressed the hope that the international community would appropriately respond.