On Wednesday, the United Nations General Assembly will adopt a Palestinian resolution calling on Israel to end “its illegal presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory” within 12 months.
The proceedings will isolate Israel for days before world leaders come to New York for the annual gathering.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will address the 193-member General Assembly on September 26, the same day as Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
The draft resolution welcomes the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice, which in July called the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories and settlements illegal and demanded the withdrawal of Tel Aviv.
The UN General Court also said this should be done “as quickly as possible” although the draft General Assembly resolution allows for a 12-month time frame.
The draft resolution is the first official document submitted by the Palestinian Authority since it was granted additional rights and privileges this month, including a seat among UN members in the assembly hall and the right to propose draft resolutions.
US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield urged countries to vote against the resolution on Wednesday. Washington, an ally of Israel, has long opposed unilateral measures that undermine the possibility of a two-state solution.
The International Court’s advisory opinion is not binding, but it carries some weight under international law and could weaken support for Israel. The resolution of the General Assembly is also not binding, but carries political weight. No member of the assembly has the right of veto.
“Every country can vote, and the world is watching,” Palestinian UN Ambassador Riyad Mansur told the General Assembly on Tuesday.
“I am asking you to be on the right side of history. With international law. With freedom. With peace”.
Israel’s UN ambassador Danny Danon criticized the General Assembly on Tuesday for failing to condemn the October 7 attack on Israel by the Palestinian organization Hamas, which led to an Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip, which is controlled by the militant group.
He rejected the draft Palestinian resolution, saying: “Let’s call this by its right name: this resolution is diplomatic terrorism, (which) uses the tools of diplomacy not to build bridges, but to tear them down.”
In the 1967 Middle East war, Israel occupied the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem, areas of historic Palestine that the Palestinians want as part of their state, and since then it has been building settlements in the West Bank and slowly expanding them.
The war in the Gaza Strip began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas attackers stormed Israeli settlements, killing about 1,200 people and taking 250 hostages, according to Israeli figures.
The Israeli army has since razed large parts of the Palestinian enclave and driven nearly the entire population of 2.3 million from their homes, killing more than 41,000 people, including from starvation and disease, according to Palestinian health authorities.
On October 27, the General Assembly called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza with 120 votes in favour. Then in December, 153 countries voted to demand, not call for, an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in December.
A two-thirds majority of those present is needed to vote on Wednesday’s draft resolution. Mansur told reporters on Monday that while he expects the draft text to be adopted, it will likely receive less support than last year’s resolutions.
The Palestinian Authority represents the Palestinian people at the UN, where it has the status of an observer country, and the name of its delegation is the State of Palestine, Hina writes.
