In a historic moment, the Permanent Representative of Palestine to the United Nations, Ambassador Riyad Mansour, sat in an official seat in the United Nations General Assembly, according to the alphabetical order of the member states, between the seats of Sudan and Sri Lanka, and a sign was placed in front of him on which was written "State of Palestine."

Last May, the overwhelming majority of the members of the General Assembly voted in favor of granting Palestine full membership in the United Nations, and the Assembly issued a resolution granting the State of Palestine additional rights, after the United States of America used its veto in the UN Security Council to prevent the State of Palestine from obtaining full membership in the United Nations.

The General Assembly resolution stipulates that, starting from the 79th annual session of the Assembly - which began last Tuesday - the Palestinian mission to the United Nations can directly submit proposals and amendments, and can sit among the member states in alphabetical order.

Egypt's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Osama Abdel Khalek, commented on Palestine obtaining the new seat, saying: "This is not just a procedural issue, it is a historic moment."

Palestine has enjoyed the status of a “non-member observer state” at the United Nations since 2012.

A state is admitted to the United Nations by a decision of the General Assembly by a two-thirds majority, but only after a positive recommendation to that effect from the UN Security Council. On April 18, the United States used its veto power in the UN Security Council to prevent the State of Palestine from obtaining full membership in the United Nations.