RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — Jubilant Palestinians crowded around outdoor screens and television sets at home Thursday to watch the United Nations vote on granting them, at least formally, what they have long yearned for — a state of their own.

A General Assembly vote to accept “Palestine” as an observer state won’t immediately change lives here, since much of what the world body is defining as the territory of that state — the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem — remains under Israeli control.

Yet many Palestinians savored the global recognition after decades of setbacks in the quest for Palestinian independence in lands Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast War.

“For the first time, there will be a state called Palestine, with the recognition of the entire world,” said Amir Hamdan, a 35-year-old dentist from the nearby refugee camp of Kalandia. “Today the world will hear our voice.”

He brought his wife, Nevine, and their two toddlers to Ramallah’s central square, joining more than 2,000 Palestinians watching the vote on an outdoor screen. Some clapped, danced and waved Palestinian flags.

Hundreds more watched in biblical Bethlehem, with the U.N. proceedings projected onto a towering wall that is part of Israel’s separation barrier in the West Bank.

Beyond the emotions and symbolism of the day, the U.N. recognition also brings real advantages.

Palestinians say it will strengthen their hand in future talks with Israel, which has lambasted the recognition bid as an attempt to bypass such negotiations.

With its vote, the U.N. is firmly rejecting Israeli attempts to portray the territories earmarked for Palestine as “disputed,” or up for grabs, rather than “occupied,” Abbas aides said.

The U.N. bid also could help Abbas restore some of his standing, which has been eroded by years of standstill 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.

At least formally, the vote puts Palestine on equal footing with Israel, meaning future talks would be conducted between two states, rather than between a military occupier and a people under occupation.

Now it will no longer be up to Israel to decide whether the Palestinians can have a state, Abbas aide Nabil Shaath wrote in an opinion piece in the Israeli daily Haaretz on Thursday. “The notion that Israel should approve the Palestinians’ inalienable right to self-determination is simply illogical, immoral, and totally unacceptable.”

The affirmation of the pre-1967 line as the border of Palestine also poses a direct challenge to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who has refused to accept that demarcation as a basis for border talks with the Palestinians. Abbas and his aides have said that the Israeli leader’s rejection of such a framework for negotiations, accepted by his predecessors, helped push them to go to the U.N.

The Palestinians could also gain access to U.N. 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, in the run-up to the U.N. vote, Abbas signaled that he wants recognition to give him leverage in future talks with Israel, and not as a tool for confronting or delegitimizing Israel, as Israeli leaders have alleged.

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

Hamas, always sensitive to public opinion, has shifted from criticizing the plan to saying they would not stand in the way.

Hamas seized the Gaza Strip from Abbas in 2007, and the two sides have been unable to heal their rift. However, on Thursday, Hamas allowed thousands to march in Gaza in support of Abbas.

In the West Bank, some Hamas activists participated in pro-Abbas marches that drew crowds of several thousand in the cities of Hebron, Nablus, Jenin and Ramallah.