UN Vision of Palestinian State
The U.N. Security Council has approved a resolution that for the first time endorses "the vision of" a Palestinian state which exists alongside Israel. The resolution, the first the United States has introduced since Yasser Arafat launched his war of terror in September 2000, was approved by 14 of the 15 council members. Syria, which wanted a hardline resolution against Israel, abstained. The resolution "demands immediate cessation of all acts of violence, including all acts of terror, provocation, incitement and destruction." It also affirms "a vision of a region where two states, Israel and Palestine, live side-by-side within secure and recognized borders."