Most countries have backed a United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) resolution setting a deadline for Israel to end its illegal occupation of Palestinian territory. Meanwhile, Israel is facing growing international criticism.
The resolution passed on Wednesday is not legally binding. But it strongly reprimands Israel and has also received the support of many Western countries which have traditionally supported Israel.
It was the first time in UN history that Palestine presented its draft resolution for a vote in the 193-member General Assembly, thanks to the enhanced rights and privileges it received following a resolution in May – as an observer state.
What does the proposal say?
The resolution demands that “Israel must end without delay its unlawful presence in the occupied Palestinian territory, which is a wrongful act of a continuing character for which it bears international responsibility, and not later than 12 months”.
The resolution calls on Israel to abide by international law, withdraw its military forces, immediately cease all settlement activities, expel all settlers from the occupied lands and demolish parts of the wall it has built inside the occupied West Bank.
It states that Israel must return land and other “immovable property” as well as all property confiscated since the occupation in 1967 and all cultural property and assets taken from Palestinians and Palestinian institutions.
The resolution also demands that Israel allow all Palestinians displaced during the occupation to return to their places of origin and compensate for the losses caused by the occupation.
What does the original ICJ decision say?
The UNGA document was based on an advisory opinion issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in July, which declared the occupation illegal and said all states were obliged “not to provide assistance or assist in maintaining it”.
The world’s highest court ruled that Israel was “abusing its position as an occupying power” by building and expanding settlements, exploiting the territory’s natural resources, occupying and establishing permanent control over land, and undermining the Palestinians’ right to self-determination.
The Court issued this opinion in 2022 after the General Assembly asked for it, and because the United Nations and the vast majority of the international community regard the Palestinian territory as under Israeli occupation.
Israel captured the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem in the Six-Day Arab-Israeli War in 1967.
It was forced to withdraw from Gaza in 2005 due to international pressure, but it continued to impose a land, sea and air blockade on the territory.
What do the votes indicate?
This resolution was approved by 124 member countries of the United Nations, while 43 countries were absent in the voting and 14 countries rejected it.
against: The list of opponents includes Israel and its top ally the United States. Argentina, which recognised the Palestinian state in 2010, has changed its stance under current President Javier Miley and has become one of Israel’s staunchest diplomatic supporters. It also opposed the resolution. Paraguay is the only other country in the Americas that voted against the resolution.
From Europe, only Hungary and the Czech Republic voted ‘no’, while from Africa, Malawi and several Pacific island countries also voted in favour.
For: France, Spain, Finland and Portugal were some of the major European countries that voted in favor. Other major supporters included Japan, China, Russia and Brazil. Overall, almost all of Africa, Europe, Asia and Latin America voted yes.
absent: India’s decision not to participate means it is cut off from the rest of the BRICS group of leading countries of the global South and all of South Asia, barring Nepal. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu considers his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi a close friend. Under Modi – who in 2017 became the first Indian prime minister to visit Israel – ties between the two countries have grown significantly as New Delhi has gradually moved away from its traditional, steadfast support for Palestine.
Since the start of the war on Gaza, Israel’s Western allies have mostly abstained from or voted against UN resolutions that seek to protect Palestinians or hold Israel accountable. Even the weak binding resolutions passed by the UN Security Council have not been implemented.
Wednesday’s vote also included a significantly higher number of abstentions than some previous polls, including a General Assembly vote on the Gaza ceasefire in December.
Does Israel’s ‘right to self-defense’ extend to occupation?
All sovereign nations have the right to defend themselves against attack, an argument Israel’s allies have repeatedly stressed to justify the killing of thousands of people in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank since Hamas launched attacks on Israel on 7 October.
The United States and its allies – including Australia, Canada, Germany and Ukraine – which abstained from Wednesday’s vote – said they could not vote for a resolution that did not mention Israel’s right to self-defense.
But he did not explain how the occupation was necessary for Israel to defend itself.
The US mission to the UN said it believes Israeli settlements in the occupied territory are “incompatible with international law” and that Washington “respects” the role of the ICJ, but views the document as “a one-sided proposal that selectively interprets the essence of the ICJ opinion, does not advance what we all want to see, and that is progress toward two states living together in peace”.
Washington claimed the resolution promotes a “false” idea that the text adopted in New York can resolve the complex conflict.
Today’s United Nations General Assembly resolution makes it clear that #Israel The 57-year-long occupation of Palestinian territory, in blatant violation of international law, cannot be allowed to continue any longer.
Israel must immediately comply with the resolution by withdrawing its troops… pic.twitter.com/22irvL0vsG
— Agnes Callamard (@AgnesCallamard) September 18, 2024
But UN special rapporteurs, a wide range of experts on international law and a number of countries have stressed that Israel cannot claim it is defending itself as an occupying power that is actively killing Palestinian civilians or depriving them of basic necessities.
The ICJ also ruled in an advisory opinion in 2004 that Israel cannot invoke the right to self-defence in occupied territory, when the court was reviewing Israel’s construction of a wall in the West Bank for alleged security purposes.
According to James Devaney, senior lecturer at the University of Glasgow’s School of Law, Israel’s right to self-defense is a difficult question that remains divisive.
He pointed out that in the past, the ICJ has emphasised that the inherent right of States to self-defence in international law is concerned with defence against other States.
“While many states express support for a broad right that would allow self-defence even with respect to non-state actors, the issue of Palestine’s statehood is, of course, tied to such questions. Thus, I would say the question of self-defence is a difficult legal issue whose effects some states may legitimately disagree on and may also provide cover for states to vote in ways that align with their political positions,” Devaney told Al Jazeera.
Will this bring any change at the ground level?
Analysts say the non-binding resolution cannot be implemented and is therefore unlikely to change anything for Palestinians in the occupied territory in the near future.
Devaney said that although the General Assembly resolution sets a deadline for Israel to vacate the occupied Palestinian territory, that fact does not change the non-enforceable nature of the resolution.
“This 12-month deadline has political significance and may play a role in future political and procedural steps taken at the UN, but in my opinion it will not make any change in terms of the legal effect of the resolution or the advisory opinion,” he said.
Meanwhile, Palestinians continue to be killed, maimed or detained without charge every day in Gaza and the West Bank, and violence by the Israeli military and settlers is rapidly escalating.
There have been reports of vandalism in Bet Awwa today. #hebronThe #westcoastbe in possession #Palestinians area. pic.twitter.com/G62v3kzEEA
— OCHA oPt (Palestine) (@ochaopt) September 19, 2024
Since the war on Gaza began, Israeli forces have been demolishing Palestinian structures – or forcing Palestinians to do so themselves under fear of fines and arrest – at a rate that has increased rapidly.
According to the latest figures, at least 11,560 Palestinian structures have been demolished and 18,667 people displaced since the UN began recording this data in 2009. More than 1,250 structures have been destroyed in 2024 alone.
