Palestinians in the West Bank and Hamas-controlled Gaza celebrated Thursday's historic vote by the United Nations General Assembly to recognize the Palestinian Authority as a non-member state, but Israel maintained that the vote would make peace talks and negotiations even tougher, CBN News reports. "The truth is, when the party is over and when people wake up tomorrow morning, they'll see that nothing is changed, that reality on the ground remains as is," Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev said Thursday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the vote "meaningless," adding: "The way to peace between Jerusalem and Ramallah is in direct negotiations, without preconditions, and not in one-sided U.N. decisions. By going to the U.N., the Palestinians have violated the agreements with Israel, and Israel will act accordingly." Speaking earlier ahead of the vote, Netanyahu said the resolution actually pushed peace backwards, and said no U.N. decision could break the "4,000-year-old bond between the people of Israel and the land of Israel."
