The UN General Assembly called on Wednesday for an end to the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories in “12 months” in a non-binding resolution widely criticized by Israel.
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The resolution, which has been debated since Tuesday by the 193 UN member states, follows the ruling of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which in July, when examining the Israeli occupation since 1967 at the request of the General Assembly, determined that “the continued presence of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territories is illegal” and that Israel has “an obligation to put an end to it… as soon as possible.”
The text, approved by 124 votes in favour, 14 against (including Israel, the United States, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Argentina) and 43 abstentions, “demands” that Israel “without delay end its illegal presence” in the Palestinian territories and that it do so “no later than 12 months after the adoption of this resolution.”
A first draft text gave only six months.
It also “demands” the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Palestinian territories, the halting of new settlements, the return of confiscated land and property and the possibility of the return of displaced Palestinians.
The resolution also calls on member states to take measures to stop imports from settlements and the supply of weapons to Israel if there are “reasonable” grounds to believe that they could be used in the Palestinian territories.
It also proposes adopting sanctions against those who participate in “maintaining Israel’s illegal presence” in the Palestinian territories.
“Inhumanity”
On Tuesday, the Palestinian ambassador to the UN, Riyad Mansourcalled on Member States to “choose the right side of history” by supporting this resolution, the first to be presented on behalf of the observer State of Palestine thanks to a right it has just won.
“How many more Palestinians must be killed before there is finally change to end this inhumanity?” he said, just days before the annual meeting of the General Assembly, where the Gaza war is expected to dominate the discussions of the dozens of heads of state and government who will attend.
While the Security Council is largely paralyzed on this issue due to the repeated use of the veto by the United States to protect its Israeli ally, the General Assembly regularly lends its support to the Palestinians.
In May, the Assembly gave overwhelming but symbolic support (143 votes in favour, nine against and 25 abstentions) to the full entry of the Palestinians into the UN, blocked by the United States.
Although General Assembly resolutions are not binding, Israel has denounced the new text.
“This is a shameful decision that supports the diplomatic terrorism of the Palestinian Authority,” Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, said in a statement shortly after the vote.
“Those who contribute to this circus are not mere spectators,” but “collaborators,” he said.
“Every vote in support of this circus fuels violence and encourages those who reject peace,” he said on Tuesday from the Assembly rostrum.
US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield also condemned the “inflammatory language” of a text that fails to affirm that “Hamas, a terrorist organisation, has power in Gaza”, a “one-sided resolution” that does not advance the two-state solution.
The Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, unprecedented in its scale and violence, killed 1,205 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP count based on official figures and including hostages killed in captivity.
Israeli retaliation in Gaza has caused a humanitarian disaster, leaving more than 41,000 dead, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza.
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