The Trump administration condemned the Saudi and French-led push for Palestinian statehood at the United Nations on Friday after the General Assembly approved the “New York Declaration” by a vote of 142 in favor, with the U.S. and nine others voting against and 12 abstentions. 

U.S. United Nations Counselor Morgan Ortagus condemned the vote. 

“Make no mistake — this resolution is a gift to Hamas,” she told members of the General Assembly.

“The United States will not participate in this insult to the victims of Oct. 7, but we will continue to lead real-world efforts to end the fighting and to deliver a permanent peace. Today’s resolution is yet another counterproductive gesture that only rewards Hamas, drags out the war and undercuts the very diplomatic efforts to free the hostages and end the suffering in Gaza.”

TRUMP REJECTS MACRON MOVE AS US SKIPS UN SUMMIT ON PALESTINIAN STATE

A White House official told Fox News Digital after the vote, “As the President stated, he would be rewarding Hamas and would be hindering efforts to bring home the hostages if he recognizes a Palestinian state, and he doesn’t think they should be rewarded. So, he is not going to do that.”

Morgan Ortagus, U.S. counselor, speaks at the United Nations General Assembly Sept. 12, 2025. (UNTV)

Proposed during a United Nations conference in July, the declaration is meant to chart what its sponsors describe as an “irreversible” path toward Palestinian statehood. It condemns Hamas for the Oct. 7 attacks, demands the release of hostages and calls for Hamas to relinquish control of Gaza and hand over its weapons to the Palestinian Authority.

In Paris, the French Foreign Ministry hailed the outcome, calling it a “historic vote” that demonstrated the determination of the international community to advance an “ambitious roadmap for peace and security for all in the region.” 

RUBIO DENIES VISAS TO PALESTINIAN LEADERS FOR UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY, CITING TERROR SUPPORT

Danny Danon, Israel’s Ambassador to the U.N., speaks during a General Assembly meeting to vote on a two-state solution to the Palestinian question at United Nations headquarters Sept. 12, 2025 in New York City.  (Angela Weiss /AFP via Getty Images)

The ministry added that the declaration embodies unprecedented support for principles such as an immediate ceasefire, the release of hostages and the creation of a viable, sovereign Palestinian state and confirmed the process will continue at a follow-up conference in New York on Sept. 22, to be attended by President Emmanuel Macron.

Israel’s U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon called Friday’s vote “theater,” warning, “The only beneficiary is Hamas. When terrorists are the ones cheering, you are not advancing peace; you are advancing terror.”

Anne Bayefsky, director of the Touro Institute on Human Rights and the Holocaust and president of Human Rights Voices, told Fox News Digital the declaration is “a direct threat to American national security” as well as “an unabashed attempt to destroy the Jewish state. It entails the so-called right of return — mass numbers of Palestinians moving into Israel in a way that would overcome the Jewish majority and end Jewish self-determination.”

Results are displayed during a General Assembly meeting to vote on the two-state solution to the Palestinian question at United Nations headquarters Sept. 12, 2025 in New York City.  (Angela Weiss /AFP via Getty Images)

She warned that its provisions on Hamas are “smoke and mirrors” and said the measure undermines the Abraham Accords by restoring a Palestinian veto over regional peace. “It’s vital that America mount a powerful response.”

While welcoming the U.S. vote and those nine countries voting against the resolution — Argentina, Hungary, Israel, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay and Tonga — she condemned Germany’s support, adding that it was “absolutely shocking … undermining the vital necessity of Jewish self-determination is abhorrent.”

On Friday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced plans to visit Israel ahead of high-level U.N. meetings later this month, where countries including France and Britain are expected to formally recognize Palestinian statehood.

Prior to talks with Trump, Sheikh Mohammed met US Secretary of State Rubio, who is heading to Israel to pledge continued support.

Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani is meeting United States President Donald Trump in New York in the wake of Israel’s deadly strike on Doha this week.

Sheikh Mohammed, who is also the country’s foreign minister, has been engaged in a flurry of diplomatic activity in the US since Israel’s attack on a Hamas meeting in Doha on Tuesday, which killed a Qatari security official and five Hamas members who were discussing a new deal proposed by Trump to end the Gaza war.

Ahead of Friday’s dinner meeting with the US president, Sheikh Mohammed met US Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the White House, where they discussed Israel’s strikes and the US-Qatar security arrangement, according to Al Jazeera’s Kimberly Halkett.

Washington counts Qatar, which hosts its Al Udeid airbase in the desert outside Doha, as a strong Gulf ally.

Trump has already said he was “very unhappy” about Israel’s targeting of Qatar, which appeared designed to derail ongoing Israel-Hamas ceasefire talks.

“The concern is that the relationship between Qatar and the United States has become increasingly complicated as a result of those strikes, so they’re looking for a path forward on both of those issues,” said Al Jazeera’s Halkett, reporting from Washington, DC.

Halkett said Friday’s scheduled meeting with Trump would “continue the conversations regarding Israel’s attack on Doha earlier this week and the negotiations to end Israel’s war on Gaza”.

The location and time of the dinner remain unclear, but Trump is currently in New York and is staying at his eponymous Manhattan tower.

Balancing act

This week has also seen the Trump administration engaged in a balancing act between Middle East allies and Israel.

The issue was brought to the fore on Thursday, when the US – which traditionally shields Israel on the international stage – joined fellow members of the United Nations Security Council in condemning the country for its attack on Qatar.

But in what appears to be a show of continued support for Israel, Rubio will arrive in Israel this weekend for a two-day visit before attending an upcoming UN summit on September 22, where a number of Western countries plan to recognise a Palestinian state.

That meeting signals growing international momentum towards a viable post-conflict settlement for Israel and Palestine, which was manifest at Friday’s meeting of the UN General Assembly, which endorsed a resolution pushing for a revival of the two-state solution.

France and Saudi Arabia have been instrumental in pushing for “collective action to end the war in Gaza, to achieve a just, peaceful and lasting settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict”, which has so far killed at least 64,756 people.

During his visit to Israel, Rubio will speak to leaders about “our commitment to fight anti-Israel actions, including unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state that rewards Hamas terrorism”, State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said in a statement.

“He will also emphasise our shared goals: ensuring Hamas never rules over Gaza again and bringing all the hostages home,” Pigott added.