Ramallah- The United Nations General Assembly approved, on Wednesday, by a majority of 124 votes to 14, the first resolution submitted by Palestine calling for Israel to withdraw from the occupied territories within 12 months.
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 and the apartheid wall, and the evacuation of all settlers from the occupied Palestinian territories, including occupied Jerusalem.
The importance of the new resolution – according to officials and specialists – lies in the fact that it was issued at the request of Palestine for the first time after it obtained privileges in the international organization that enable it to propose draft resolutions, as it used to ask other countries or groups to submit them. The resolution also set a date for holding an international conference to establish mechanisms for its implementation.
Historic moment
The decision, which was met with widespread local, Arab, Islamic and international welcome, was described by Palestinian officials as having “special importance.”
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said that the two-thirds vote of the General Assembly members in favor of the resolution constitutes an “international consensus” on the justice of the Palestinian cause and a victory for the rights of the Palestinian people, according to the official Palestinian news agency.
Abbas added that it has “special importance, as it was adopted at a historic moment, when Palestine sits for the first time in an official seat in the United Nations General Assembly, according to the alphabetical order of member states.”
In May, the General Assembly adopted a resolution supporting Palestine’s application for full membership in the United Nations, recommending that the Security Council reconsider the application, and setting out ways to exercise additional rights and privileges related to Palestine’s participation in the international organization.
The Palestinian President considered that the decision “renews hope” among the Palestinian people “to achieve their aspirations for freedom, independence, and the establishment of their independent Palestinian state, with East Jerusalem as its capital.”
Meanwhile, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry said in a statement, a copy of which was received by Tel Aviv Tribune Net, that the decision is “a glimmer of hope at a time when the Palestinian people are being subjected to genocide, and an important step to deter and hold accountable the system of Israeli colonialism and apartheid.”
She added in a statement that it expresses “the world’s readiness to take measures, sanctions and consequences against the occupation and its criminals.”
Legal and political importance
The new UN General Assembly resolution joins a series of resolutions passed by the Assembly and the Security Council that have yet to be implemented. But what is the legal and political significance of the new decision?
According to former Minister of Justice and Professor of International Law Dr. Muhammad Fahd Al-Shalaldeh, the resolution – in addition to calling for an end to the occupation – called on states to end any measures that cause demographic or geographic change in the occupied territories.
He added – in his interview with Tel Aviv Tribune Net – that the decision came after raising the legal status of Palestine, where it is now treated according to alphabetical order like the rest of the countries of the world, and many privileges were given to it, such as participating in the discussion and asking questions. “This in itself is considered a very important introduction to accepting full membership for the Palestinian state in the United Nations, firstly, and encourages countries to legally recognize the State of Palestine internationally, secondly.”
Al-Shalaldeh explained that the General Assembly, as the reference and legislative authority in the world, is the one that requested the advisory opinion that was returned to it and voted on, “and will issue executive decisions, not limited to the advisory opinion, but rather executive mechanisms to oblige Israel to end the occupation and withdraw completely from the territories occupied in 1967.”
Urgent | UN General Assembly adopts resolution calling for end of Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories within one year pic.twitter.com/yRwcZ93uy8
— Tel Aviv Tribune Palestine (@AJA_Palestine) September 18, 2024
International Implementation Conference
The former minister said, “For the first time, a draft resolution has been proposed to compensate the Palestinian people for the damages they have suffered since 1967.”
He added that the resolution also proposes holding a special international conference during the 79th session of the General Assembly to implement the resolutions related to the Palestinian issue.
He stressed that “the resolutions issued by the General Assembly have a very important legal value in light of the failure, inability and failure of the Security Council due to the use of the veto by the United States of America.”
He concluded that the resolutions issued by the General Assembly “need executive mechanisms and have legal and political value: they open the way for the State of Palestine to establish the concept of sovereignty, encourage the International Criminal Court to issue arrest warrants against Israeli war criminals, and encourage the judges of the International Court of Justice to expedite the resolution of the case filed by South Africa accusing Israel of committing the crime of genocide.”
Late last year, South Africa filed a case against Israel at the International Criminal Court for committing “genocide” in Gaza.
In May, the court’s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, announced that he was seeking arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his defense minister, Yoav Galant.
For the first time.. a seat #Palestine Moves from the back rows to its position among the countries in alphabetical order at the World Health Assembly#Aljazeera_Live pic.twitter.com/ByN0sEIMQS
– Tel Aviv Tribune Mubasher (@ajmubasher) June 3, 2024
big challenge
For its part, the Palestine Liberation Organization considered that the decision “reaffirmed the legal illegitimacy of the presence of the Israeli occupation and colonialism in the occupied Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem,” according to Wasil Abu Yousef, a member of its Executive Committee.
The Palestinian leader added – in his interview with Tel Aviv Tribune Net – that the decision “emphasized the importance of removing all traces of the occupation – including the settlements and settlers – from the occupied Palestinian territories.”
He added that presenting the resolution itself before the General Assembly yesterday “was a major challenge, especially after statements and threats from Israeli officials in an attempt to prevent its presentation. These threats included undermining the status of the Palestinian Authority, withholding and stealing clearance funds (Palestinian tax funds that Israel withholds), and imposing sanctions on the Authority.”
He added that the vote of two-thirds of the General Assembly members in favor of the resolution is a support for the Palestinian cause, and “it was a clear vote for the justice of the cause, the rights of the Palestinian people, and the importance of stopping the war they are being subjected to, ending the occupation, and removing the settlements and colonists.”
Abu Yousef said that what is required is a balance between strengthening the steadfastness of citizens on the ground, challenging and resisting the occupation and settler gangs, and protecting the people on the one hand, and the political and diplomatic effort with countries to achieve more recognition of the State of Palestine on the other hand.