9/18/2024–|Last update: 9/18/202408:19 PM (Makkah Time)
The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed the adoption by the United Nations General Assembly, in its emergency special session today, Wednesday, of a draft resolution drafted by the Palestinian Authority, calling on Israel to end its “illegal presence in the occupied Palestinian territories” within 12 months.
The Foreign Ministry considered the decision a decisive and historic moment for the Palestinian cause and international law. It also thanked the member states that adopted, sponsored and voted for the decision submitted by the State of Palestine, which was adopted by a majority of 124 votes, while 43 countries abstained from voting, and 14 countries opposed the decision.
The Foreign Ministry explained that the positive vote of more than two-thirds of the UN member states is a referendum on an international consensus that the occupation must end, that the occupation’s practices and crimes must stop, and that it must withdraw its forces, including the settlers.
The draft resolution aims to support the advisory opinion issued by the International Court of Justice last July calling for an end to the illegal Israeli occupation, the dismantling of the settlements and their illegal system, the apartheid wall, and the evacuation of all settlers from the occupied Palestinian territories, including occupied Jerusalem.
Timeline
While the advisory opinion from the UN’s highest court said such withdrawal should happen “as soon as possible,” the draft resolution sets a 12-month timetable for implementation.
The draft resolution is the first officially submitted by the Palestinian Authority since it obtained additional rights and privileges this month, including a seat among the members of the United Nations in the General Assembly and the right to propose draft resolutions.
Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon criticized the UN General Assembly on Tuesday for what he said was its failure to condemn the attack launched by Hamas fighters on Israel on October 7.
Danon rejected the Palestinian draft resolution, saying, “Let’s call this by its name. This resolution is diplomatic terrorism, as the tools of diplomacy are used not to build bridges but to destroy them.”
Build and expand
Israel occupied the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem in the 1967 war, and has since been building and expanding settlements in the West Bank.
In July 2023, the Israeli government claimed that it had “the right to impose its sovereignty over the West Bank,” saying that “the Jewish people have the exclusive right to self-determination in these lands.”
International law prohibits Israel from annexing any parts of the West Bank, according to numerous UN statements in recent years.
On October 27, the General Assembly called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza by a majority of 120 votes, and then in December, 153 countries voted in favor of demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire rather than just calling for one.
The Palestinian Authority represents the Palestinian people at the United Nations as a non-member observer, and the delegation is known as the State of Palestine.