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The resolution calls on the International Court of Justice to give an opinion on Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory.
The United Nations General Assembly has passed a resolution calling on the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to issue an opinion on the legal consequences of Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian territory.
The General Assembly voted 87 to 26 on the resolution, with 53 abstentions. While the West was divided, it was virtually unanimously supported in the Islamic world, including the Arab nations, which normalized relations with Israel. Russia and China voted in favor of the resolution.
Twenty-four other member states, including Israel, the United States, and the United Kingdom and Germany, voted against the resolution, while France was among the 53 abstaining.
The Hague-based ICJ, also known as the World Court, is the United Nations Supreme Court for disputes between States. Its rulings are binding, but the ICJ is non-enforceable.
Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations, Riyad Mansour, noted that the vote took place the day after Israel’s new far-right government was sworn in. He also voted in favor of the resolution, praising countries that “have not been deterred by threats and pressures.”
“Regardless of your vote today, if you believe in international law and peace, I believe you will uphold the opinion of the International Court of Justice and stand up to this Israeli government now,” Mansour told General Assembly. .
The United Nations General Assembly advised the ICJ of the legal consequences of Israel’s “occupation, settlement and annexation … including measures aimed at changing the demographic composition, the character and status of the Holy City of Jerusalem”, and from the relevant adoptions. requested an advisory opinion. discriminatory legislation and measures”.
The UN resolution also instructed the ICJ on how these policies and practices “affect the legal status of the occupation” and what legal consequences this status would have for all States and the United Nations. I am asking you to advise me.
The ICJ last intervened in the Israeli occupation issue in 2004, ruling that Israel’s wall in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem was illegal. Israel rejected the ruling, accusing the court of being politically motivated.
The majority of countries supported Palestine, but it would be years before a non-binding opinion was issued. made a verdict. pic.twitter.com/5as9blIMZw
— Kristen Salomey (@KSaloomey) December 30, 2022
“No international organization can decide that Jews are ‘occupying’ our homeland. Any decision of a morally bankrupt and politicized United Nations mandated judiciary is wholly unjustified.” ‘, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, said in a pre-vote statement.
During the war of June 1967, Israel occupied all of historic Palestine and displaced 300,000 Palestinians from their homes. Israel also occupied Syria’s Golan Heights to the north and Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula to the south. In 1978 Egypt and Israel signed a peace treaty and Israel withdrew from Egyptian territory.
The occupied Palestinian territories have been under Israeli military control since 1967. This makes it the longest occupation in modern history. The divided territories include Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem.
British diplomat Thomas Phipps said of the UN vote, “I don’t think a referral to the International Court of Justice will help bring the parties back to dialogue.”
“It is also the UK’s position that it is inappropriate to seek an advisory opinion from the courts without the consent of both parties on matters that are inherently bilateral disputes.”
Among the Western countries that supported the resolution was Portugal, whose representatives acknowledged “the risk of over-judicializing international relations”, but the World Court said that “the international rules-based order that we are supporting,” he said.
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