RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) – Palestinians erupted in wild cheers Thursday, hugging each other, setting off fireworks and chanting “God is great” after the United Nations granted them, at least formally, what they have long yearned for – a state of their own.

The historic General Assembly decision to accept “Palestine” as a non-member observer state won’t immediately change lives here, since much of the territory of that state – the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem – remains under Israeli control.

Yet many Palestinians savored the massive global recognition – 138 of 193 General Assembly members voted “yes” – following decades of setbacks in the quest for Palestinian independence in lands Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast War.