U.N. General Assembly votes to recognize the state of Palestine UNITED NATIONSThe United Nations voted overwhelmingly Thursday to recognize a Palestinian state, a long-sought victory for the Palestinians but an embarrassing diplomatic defeat for the United States. The resolution upgrading the Palestinians' status to a nonmember observer state at the United Nations was approved by a more than two-thirds majority of the 193-member world body -- a vote of 138-9, with 41 abstentions. A Palestinian flag was quickly unfurled on the floor of the General Assembly, behind the Palestinian delegation. Real independence, however, remains an elusive dream until the Palestinians negotiate a peace deal with the Israelis, who warned that the General Assembly action will 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 U.N. status. The United States immediately criticized the historic vote. "Today's unfortunate and counterproductive resolution places further obstacles in the path peace," U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice said. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called the vote "unfortunate" and "counterproductive." Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the speech by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to the General Assembly shortly before the vote "defamatory and venomous," saying it was "full of mendacious propaganda" against Israel. Abbas had told the General Assembly that it was "being asked today to issue the birth certificate of Palestine," saying the vote is 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 for realizing 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. Israel's U.N. ambassador, Ron Prosor, warned the General Assembly that "the Palestinians are turning their backs on peace" and that the U.N. can't break the 4,000-year-old bond between the people of Israel and the land of Israel. "For as long as President Abbas prefers symbolism over reality, as long as he prefers to travel to New York for U.N. resolutions, rather than travel to Jerusalem for genuine dialogue, any hope of peace will be out of reach," Prosor said. After the vote, Netanyahu said the U.N. move violated past agreements between Israel and the Palestinians and that Israel would act accordingly, without elaborating what steps it might take. CBS News foreign affairs analyst Pamela Falk explains that many diplomats believe the Palestinian bid for non-member state status, despite U.S. and Israeli objections, could restart peace talks for several reasons: "The support for the bid of former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert; because there is agreement between the leadership of the West Bank and Gaza on the vote; and because the recent fighting has raised the stakes," she said. But Israeli and the U.S. officials say that the vote is not at all productive toward peace talks. Netanyahu said the Palestinians will not win a state until they recognize Israel as the Jewish homeland, declare an end to their conflict with the Jewish state and agree to security arrangements that protect Israel. The non-member observer state status could also open the way for possible war crimes charges against the Jewish state at the International Criminal Court. A bipartisan group of senators have already warned the Palestinians they could lose U.S. financial aid if they use their newfound status against Israel. Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham and John Barrasso and Democratic Sens. Chuck Schumer and Bob Menendez said Thursday that they are pushing for an amendment to the defense bill on the Palestinians that would also shut down the Palestinian Liberation Organization's office if they use their upgraded U.N. status to file such charges. The conflict saw the Islamic militant group claim victory and raise its standing in the Arab world, while Abbas' Fatah movement was sidelined and marginalized. Hamas does not recognize Israel as a legitimate state.