Some 40 countries on Monday urged Israel to lift sanctions imposed on the Palestinian Authority earlier this month after it asked the UN’s International Court of Justice (ICJ) to study the consequences of the Israeli occupation.
On December 30th, the UN General Assembly approved a resolution that requested the court’s opinion on the occupation of Palestinian territories by the Hebrew State. In retaliation, Israel announced on the 6th the imposition of a series of sanctions, some financial, on the Palestinian Authority.
On Monday, some 40 UN member states reaffirmed their “unwavering support” for the ICJ and international law, expressing “deep concern over the Israeli government’s decision to impose punitive measures against the Palestinian people, leaders and civil society. upon request of the General Assembly” to the court.
“Regardless of each country’s position on the resolution, we reject the adoption of punitive measures in response to a request for an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice and, more broadly, in response to a General Assembly resolution, and call for their immediate removal. .”
Countries that voted in favor of the resolution signed the statement (Algeria, Argentina, Belgium, Ireland, Pakistan and South Africa, among others), but also some of those that abstained (Japan, France and South Korea) and others that voted against, such as Germany and Estonia. “This is significant and shows that, regardless of what the countries voted for, they are united in rejecting punitive measures”, expressed the Palestinian ambassador to the UN, Riyad Mansour.
A spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reiterated his “deep concern” over “Israel’s recent measures against the Palestinian Authority”, and said that “there should be no retaliation” in response to a request to the ICJ.
The Security Council of the international body should discuss the matter at its meeting next Wednesday.
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