United Nations approves Palestinian proposal to raise flag
UNITED NATIONS -- The U.N. General Assembly has overwhelmingly approved the Palestinians' proposal to raise their flag, along with that of the Holy See, at U.N. headquarters -- a symbolic step in the Palestinians' pursuit of statehood.
Israel has strongly objected to the proposal.
The resolution allows non-member observer states to raise their flags. The Palestinians and the Vatican are the only two observers. The Holy See has backed away from the effort, saying it will not raise its flag before Pope Francis visits the U.N. later this month.
The Palestinians say they would like President Mahmoud Abbas to raise their flag after he addresses the General Assembly's gathering of world leaders Sept. 30.
The U.N. says it will be guided by Thursday's non-binding vote. The resolution allows 20 days for implementation.