"Sixty-five years ago on this day, the United Nations General Assembly adopted resolution 181, which partitioned the land of historic Palestine into two states and became the birth certificate for Israel, " Mr Abbas said shortly before the vote in New York.

BBC: Palestinians win upgraded UN status by wide margin

And the unelected interim assembly that currently acts as Congress is now considering a land-reform bill that would allow the compulsory purchase of unused land from big landowners for redistribution.

ECONOMIST: Chavez bids for (more) power