The UN will vote on a Palestinian resolution demanding Israel end its
occupation
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[September 18, 2024]
By EDITH M. LEDERER
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. General Assembly will vote Wednesday on a
Palestinian resolution demanding that Israel end its “unlawful presence”
in Gaza and the occupied West Bank within a year, withdraw its military
forces and evacuate all settlers.
The resolution is being put to a vote in the 193-member assembly as
Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza approaches its first anniversary and
as violence in the West Bank reaches new highs. The war was triggered by
Hamas attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7.
Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian U.N. ambassador, opened the assembly
meeting Tuesday by saying Palestinians face an “existential threat” and
claiming Israel has held them “in shackles.” He demanded an end to
Israel’s decades-long occupation and for Palestinians to be able to
return home to live in peace and freedom.
Israel’s ambassador to the U.N., Danny Danon, urged member nations to
reject the resolution, describing it as “an attempt to destroy Israel
through diplomatic terrorism” that never mentions Hamas' atrocities and
“ignores the truth, twists the facts and replaces reality with fiction.”
“Instead of a resolution condemning the rape and massacre committed by
Hamas on Oct. 7, we gather here to watch the Palestinians’ U.N. circus —
a circus where evil is righteous, war is peace, murder is justified and
terror is applauded,” he said.
If adopted, the resolution would not be legally binding, but the extent
of its support would reflect world opinion. There are no vetoes in the
General Assembly, unlike in the 15-member Security Council.
The resolution is a response to a ruling by the top United Nations court
in July that said Israel’s presence in the Palestinian territories is
unlawful and must end.
In the sweeping condemnation of Israel’s rule over the lands it captured
during the 1967 war, the International Court of Justice said Israel had
no right to sovereignty over the Palestinian territories and was
violating international laws against acquiring the lands by force.
The court’s opinion also is not legally binding. Nonetheless, the
Palestinians drafted the resolution to try to implement the ruling,
saying Israel’s “abuse of its status as the occupying power” renders its
“presence in the occupied Palestinian territory unlawful.”
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Israeli soldiers take up positions next to the Philadelphi Corridor
along the border with Egypt, in the Gaza Strip on Friday, Sept. 13,
2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Mansour stressed that any country that thinks the Palestinian people
“will accept a life of servitude” or that claims peace is possible
without a just solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is “not
being realistic.”
The solution remains an independent Palestinian state based on the 1967
borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, living side by side in
peace and security with Israel, he said.
U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas Greenfield told reporters that
the resolution has “a significant number of flaws,” saying it goes
beyond the ICJ ruling. It also doesn’t recognize that “Hamas is a
terrorist organization” in control of Gaza and that Israel has a right
to defend itself, she said.
“In our view, the resolution does not bring about tangible benefits
across the board for the Palestinian people,” Thomas-Greenfield said. “I
think it could complicate the situation on the ground, complicate what
we’re trying to do to end the conflict, and I think it impedes
reinvigorating steps toward a two-state solution.”
The resolution calls for Israel to pay reparations to Palestinians for
the damage caused by its occupation and urges countries to take steps to
prevent trade or investments that maintain Israel’s presence in the
territories.
It also demands that Israel be held accountable for any violations of
international law, that sanctions be imposed on those responsible for
maintaining Israel’s presence in the territories, and for countries to
halt arms exports to Israel if they’re suspected of being used there.
Mansour said an initial Palestinian draft demanded Israel end its
occupation within six months but that it was revised in response to
concerns of some countries to increase the time frame to within a year.
Most likely, he said, Israel won’t pay attention to the resolution.
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