By Janet Ekstract NEW YORK – In a historic vote at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), a new U.N. resolution is calling for Israel to heed international law and immediately withdraw its military. The resolution also calls for Israel to stop all new settlement activity, evacuate settlers from occupied land and to dismantle parts of the separation wall that Israel constructed inside the occupied West Bank. UNGA is also demanding that Israel return land and other “immoveable property” including all seized assets since the beginning of its occupation in 1967. This includes returning all cultural property and assets taken from Palestinians and Palestinian institutions. In addition, the resolution also requires Israel to allow all displaced Palestinians during the occupation to return to their place of origin and make reparations for the damage caused by its occupation. UNGA “strongly deplored the continued and total disregard and breaches” by the Government of Israel of its obligations under the U.N. Charter, international law and U.N. resolutions, stressing that such breaches “seriously threaten” regional and international peace and security. This new resolution originates from the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) advisory opinion, issued in July where the ICJ declared that Israel’s continuing presence in the occupied territory “is unlawful,” and that “all States are under an obligation not to recognize” the decades-long occupation.
The significant development that resulted from the new UNGA resolution is that during the current UNGA sessions in New York City, an international conference will convene to implement U.N. resolutions related to the issue of Palestine and the two-state solution with the goal of achieving a just, lasting and comprehensive peace in the Middle East. UNGA has requested U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres present proposals for a mechanism to follow up on Israel’s violations of Article 3 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination identified by the ICJ. Article 3 relates to racial segregation and apartheid and the participation by the International Convention’s States Parties to prevent, prohibit and eradicate all practices of this type in territories under their jurisdiction.
In addition, the new resolution specifically states that Israel “must be held to account for any violations” of international law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and that includes international humanitarian and human rights laws. Part of the text states that Israel “must bear the legal consequences of all its international wrongful acts including by making reparation for the injury, including any damage caused by such acts.” The UNGA emphasized the necessity of creating an international mechanism for reparations to address damage, loss or injury as a result of Israel’s actions. Included within that scope is a call to create an international register of damage caused while documenting evidence and related claims. UNGA has also called on U.N. Member States to comply with their obligations under international law and take definitive steps in addressing Israel’s continuing presence in Occupied Palestinian Territory.
An even more crucial development from the resolution is the UNGA’s calling on Member States to refrain from recognizing Israel’s presence in the Territory as lawful and to guarantee Israel can’t provide aid or assistance to maintain the status quo established by the occupation. This would include taking measures to stop their nationals, companies, and entities under their jurisdiction from engaging in activities that support and encourage Israel’s occupation. UNGA also requests States to stop importing Israeli products from Israeli settlements and to end the transfer of arms, munitions and related equipment to Israel in cases where there are reasonable grounds to suspect they could be used in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. The resolution further urges States to impose sanctions akin to travel bans and freezing assets against those individuals and entities involved in sustaining Israel’s unlawful presence in the Territory. This would include examining settler violence issues and a guarantee those participating in such activities will face legal and financial consequences. This resolution doesn’t grant Palestine the right to vote or put forward its candidacy to two major U.N. branches: the U.N Security Council (UNSC) or the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). It also doesn’t provide for U.N. membership for the State of Palestine because that requires a specific recommendation from the Security Council. While 124 nations voted in favor of the resolution, 14 were against it and 43 nations abstained. The resolution was passed at a special session of the UNGA which was a continuation of the tenth emergency special session of the General Assembly that met last May during the continuing conflict in Gaza when it adopted a resolution giving additional rights to the State of Palestine’s participation in UNGA meetings. The UNGA temporarily adjourned its tenth emergency special session and authorized the president of the UNGA to reconvene such session as deemed from Member States.
Photo : AA
