The United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly adopted a nonbinding resolution on Wednesday demanding that Israel end its “unlawful presence in the occupied Palestinian territory” within a year, a significant but symbolic move that highlighted growing international condemnation of Israel’s treatment of the Palestinian people.
The Assembly’s chamber in New York broke into applause after the resolution was approved by a vote of 124 to 14, with Israel and the United States in opposition and 43 other nations abstaining. The decision followed a landmark opinion issued in July by the International Court of Justice, the world’s highest court, which said that Israel’s occupation violated international law and should end “as rapidly as possible.”
The resolution was the first to be put forth by Palestine, a U.N. nonmember observer state, since it was granted new diplomatic privileges by the Assembly in May. The Assembly granted those privileges after the United States vetoed a Security Council resolution that would have recognized full membership for a Palestinian state in April.
In addition to demanding that Israel withdraw all military forces and evacuate settlers from the occupied territory, the resolution urges nations to halt the transfer of weapons to Israel if there are reasonable grounds to believe they may be used there. It also urges nations to move toward halting the imports of “any products originating in the Israeli settlements.”
All resolutions adopted by the General Assembly are nonbinding, reflecting the political consensus of its 193 members. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority are both expected to address the Assembly next week, according to Reuters.
Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian ambassador to the U.N., told the Assembly on Tuesday that he was there to send a message to the Palestinian people — that “a change is going to come; that their fate is not endless suffering and agony; that freedom is their birthright and their destiny.”
He said that “justice is the only path to peace” and called on the Assembly’s members to ”stand on the right side of history.”
After the resolution was adopted, a spokesman for the Israeli foreign ministry, Oren Marmorstein, said on social media that it was “disconnected from reality, encourages terrorism and harms the chances for peace.” He accused the Palestinian Authority of being interested only in “defaming” and harming Israel, and vowed that Israel would “respond accordingly.”
Agnès Callamard, the secretary general of Amnesty International, said in a statement that world governments, including those allied with Israel, must now ensure that Israel complies with the resolution.
She said that “over the past 11 months, the systematic human rights violations that are a hallmark of Israel’s brutal occupation and system of apartheid have drastically intensified,” adding to the “injustice, bloodshed and suffering” that the occupation has inflicted on the Palestinian people since Israel captured Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem in the 1967 war.
“Implementing the U.N.G.A.’s resolution is key to restoring faith in international law,” Ms. Callamard said. “This is a critical juncture for the international community.”
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