UN backs resolution calling for an end to Israel’s occupation of Gaza and the West Bank

09/24/2024 / By Laura Harris

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) has voted in favor of a resolution calling for an end to the Israeli occupation of Gaza and the West Bank within a year.

The nonbinding resolution, brought forth by the Palestinian Authority, is rooted in the July advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which declared the presence of Israel in the occupied territories unlawful. The resolution calls for the removal of Israeli settlers from areas occupied since 1967, divestment from Israeli companies benefiting from those lands and compensation for Palestinians living under military occupation. (Related: Israel’s entire occupation of Palestine since 1948 ruled illegal by the UN.)

It also urges UN members not to recognize any unilateral changes to the status of these territories, referencing the two-state solution, which has been the accepted framework for peace since 1993.

The ICJ recommendation has been used as a basis for renewed efforts to end the decades-long occupation of the West Bank, but neither the ICJ ruling nor the resolution is legally binding.

Despite that, 124 of the 193-member UNGA supported the measure when it came to a vote on Sept. 18. Meanwhile, 14 nations, including Israel and the United States, voted against the resolution, and 43 countries, including Australia, Canada, Germany and Ukraine, abstained.

Many of the countries that abstained expressed concerns over the lack of provisions addressing the right of Israel to self-defense. Canadian ambassador Bob Rae even stressed the resolution’s failure to condemn terrorism and argued it portrayed the conflict as one-sided.

“It’s an important precedent because one of the main problems with Palestinian issues for the last 75 years is that nobody was putting actual deadlines,” former advisor to Palestinian leadership Nizar Farsakh said regarding the support. “In international politics, it becomes a talking point that countries like South Africa or the global south, in general, can use, because it’s basically the UN General Assembly – the mood of the international community.”

Israeli ambassador to the UN condemns the decision

Meanwhile, Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon condemned the decision on X.

“This is a shameful decision that backs the Palestinian Authority’s diplomatic terrorism,” he wrote. “Instead of marking the anniversary of the October 7 massacre by condemning Hamas and calling for the release of all 101 of the remaining hostages, the General Assembly continues to dance to the music of the Palestinian Authority, which backs the Hamas murderers.”

However, Richard Gowan, UN director at the International Crisis Group, explained that the timing of the resolution is strategic – to bring renewed attention to the Palestinian issue just ahead of high-level meetings at the UN, when world leaders will gather to deliver their annual addresses.

“I think the timing of the Palestinian resolution was very deliberate. What we’ve seen in recent months is that although everyone remains very concerned about Gaza, the Palestinian question has been gradually slipping down the political agenda at the UN,” Gowan said. “I think leaders coming to New York are going to have to decide not only whether or not to call for a ceasefire in Gaza – which I think almost everyone will – but whether they are actually going to speak up and endorse what the General Assembly and the ICJ have said.”

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