New York Declaration needs to be translated into tangible results

China has consistently pointed out that without Middle East peace, the world will not be stable, and that the Palestinian question has always been at the heart of the Middle East turmoil. It is thus a positive development that the United Nations has set out an action-oriented pathway toward a peaceful settlement of the Israel-Palestine conflict and the realization of the "two-state solution", which is the only way to resolve the long-running conflict.

The UN General Assembly on Friday adopted a draft resolution endorsing the New York Declaration on the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution. That the draft resolution was passed by 142 votes in favor, 10 against, and 12 abstentions speaks volumes about the international community's will on how the Palestinian question should be settled.

The declaration is the outcome of an international conference held in July at the UN Headquarters in New York, organized by France and Saudi Arabia, which resumes later this month.