UNITED NATIONS, Nov 30: In a historic vote, the United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly voted on Thursday to admit Palestine as a nonmember observer state, a long-sought victory for the Palestinians and an embarrassing diplomatic defeat for the United States.

Many diplomats here observed that the Palestinian victory was a stinging rebuke to United States and Israel which could only garner nine votes for their position in the 193 member UN General Assembly.

The resolution upgrading the Palestinians` status to a non-member state was approved by more than twothirds majority a vote of 138-9, with 41 abstentions. The Vatican is the only other entity in the UN that enjoys the same status.

A Palestinian flag was quickly unfurled on the floor of the General Assembly, behind the Palestinian delegation.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in his address told the General Assembly that it was `being asked today to issue the birth certificate of Palestine`, saying the vote was the last chance to save the two-state solution.

`The window of opportunity is narrowing and time is quickly running out.

The rope of patience is shortening and hope is withering. The innocent lives that have been taken by Israeli bombs ... are a painful reminder to the world that this racist, colonial occupation is making the two-state solution and the prospect forrealising peace a very difficult choice, if not impossible,` Abbas said ahead of the vote. He got a huge round of applause as he left the podium.

The United States immediately criticised the historic vote. `Today`s unfortunate and counter-productive resolution places further obstacles in the path of peace,` US Ambassador Susan Rice said. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called the vote `unfortunate` and `counter-productive Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the speech by Mr Abbas `defamatory and venomous`, saying it was `full of mendacious propaganda` against Israel.

Israel`s ambassador to UN, Ron Prosor, warned the General Assembly that `the Palestinians are turning their backs on peace` and that the UN can`t break the 4,000-year-old bond between the people of Israel and the land of Israel.

The vote was certain to succeed, with most of the member states sympathetic to the Palestinians. Several key countries, including France, this week announced they would support the move to elevate the Palestinians from the status of UN observer to non-member observer state.

Thursday`s vote came on the same day, Nov 29, that the UN General Assembly in 1947 voted to recognise a state in Palestine, to the jubilation of Jews. The Palestinians rejected that partition plan, and decades of tension and violence have followed.

The vote grants Mr Abbas an overwhelming international endorsement for his key position: establishment of aPalestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem, the territories captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war. With Mr Netanyahu opposed to a pullback to the 1967 lines, this should strengthen Abbas` hand if peace talks resume.

The overwhelming vote also could help Abbas restore some of his standing, which has been eroded by years of stalemate in peace efforts. His rival, Hamas, deeply entrenched in Gaza, has seen its popularity rise after an Israeli offensive on targets linked to the Islamic militant group there earlier this month.

Israel has stepped back from initial threats of harsh retaliation for the Palestinians seeking UN recognition, but government officials warned that Israel would respond to any Palestinian attempts to use the upgraded status to confront Israel in international bodies in particular the International Criminal Court.

The Palestinians now can gain access to UN agencies and international bodies, most significantly the International Criminal Court, which could become a springboard for going after Israel for alleged war crimes or its ongoing settlement building on war-won land.

However, ultimate independence remains elusive until the Palestinians negotiate a peace deal with the Israelis, who warned that the General Assembly`s action would only delay a lasting solution. Israel still controls the West Bank, east Jerusalem and access to Gaza, and it accused the Palestinians of bypassing negotiations with the campaign to upgrade their UN status.