'Gift to Hamas': Trump administration blasts UN Palestinian statehood vote

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."

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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."

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." 

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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."

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.