The United Nations General Assembly (UN) called on Wednesday, September 18, for an end to the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories “within twelve months”mobilizing international support for the Palestinian cause. This resolution comes four days before the start of the “high-level week” in New York and increases the pressure on Israel, whose Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is among the 138 heads of state and government announced.
The Palestinian mission to the UN welcomed, on the X network, an adoption “historical”The text was approved by 124 votes in favour, 14 against and 43 abstentions. It was she who proposed this “non-binding” resolution, which also demands the cessation of new settlements, the return of confiscated land and property and the possibility of the return of displaced Palestinians, making use for the first time of a prerogative acquired in May. Not having obtained full membership in the United Nations, the Palestinians were given the right to submit their own texts to a vote.
Hamas called this adoption “victory”while Israel was talking about a text “cynical”. The head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, welcomed a resolution of a “great importance”which reaffirms the Palestinian right to self-determination.
An “ambitious” text
This is the third act of a play that began long before the Hamas attacks, on October 7, 2023, when the General Assembly turned to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), in December 2022, to ask for a “advisory opinion” “non-binding” on legal consequences “arising from Israel’s policies and practices in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem”.
In July, the ICJ thus judged the Israeli presence “illicit” and called on Israel to “end their presence in the occupied Palestinian territories as soon as possible”entrusting the Assembly and the Security Council with the responsibility of setting the modalities. The Palestinians were quick to propose this text. ” ambitious “but that, by adopting the ICJ’s ruling, it secured the support of countries willing to back the highest instance of justice in the multilateral system.
“It was the first time that the Court examined the Israeli occupation as a whole, “The Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations, Riyad Mansour, opened the debates on Tuesday, September 17. The Court’s advisory opinion showed that there was no doubt about either the facts or the law; but the law is not there simply to serve as a yardstick for measuring violations: it is there to prevent them, and when that fails, it is there to punish them, to put an end to them, to hold them accountable, to ensure justice.he explained.
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