UN General Assembly refers Israeli occupation to International Court of Justice
- 31 Dec 2022
Palestinian Ambassador Riyad H. Mansour speaks during a meeting at United Nations headquarters. File / AP
The General Assembly voted 87-26 with 53 abstentions on the resolution, with Western nations split but virtually unanimous support in the Islamic world and backing from Russia and China.
The resolution calls on the UN court in The Hague to determine the "legal consequences arising from the ongoing violation by Israel of the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination" as well as of its measures "aimed at altering the demographic composition, character and status" of the holy city of Jerusalem.
The Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations, Riyad Mansour, said the vote sent a signal to the new government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over its efforts to "accelerate colonial and racist policies" and hailed nations that were "undeterred by threats and pressure."
"We trust that regardless of your vote today, if you believe in international law and peace, you will uphold the opinion of the International Court of Justice when delivered," Mansour said.
Speaking ahead of the vote, the Israeli ambassador, Gilad Erdan, called the resolution "a moral stain on the UN." "No international body can decide that the Jewish people are occupiers in their own homeland," Erdan said.
"Any decision from a judicial body which receives its mandate from the morally bankrupt and politicised UN is completely illegitimate," he said.
The resolution also demands that Israel cease settlements, but General Assembly votes have no legal force — unlike those in the Security Council, where Israel ally US wields veto power.
The United States, Britain and Germany opposed the resolution, while France abstained.
"We do not feel that a referral to the International Court of Justice is helpful in bringing the parties back to dialogue," British diplomat Thomas Phipps said.
"It is also the position of the UK that it is inappropriate without the consent of both parties to ask the court to give an advisory opinion in what is essentially a bilateral dispute."
Among Western nations that backed the resolution was Portugal, whose representative acknowledged the "risk of over-judicialising international relations" but said the world court "underpins the international rules-based order which we seek to preserve."
The Hague-based ICJ, also known as the World Court, is the top UN court dealing with disputes between states. Its rulings are binding, though the ICJ has no power to enforce them.
Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem - areas the Palestinians want for a state - in a 1967 war. Peace talks broke down in 2014.
"The time has come for Israel to be a state subject to law, and to be held accountable for its ongoing crimes against our people," Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said.
The Palestinians have limited rule in the West Bank and East Jerusalem was annexed by Israel in a move not recognised internationally. Its settlements in those territories are deemed illegal by most countries, a view Israel disputes citing Biblical and historical ties to the land, as well as security.
Separately, at least 35 Palestinians were injured by Israeli soldiers during clashes in downtown the northern West Bank city of Nablus, authorities said.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said that two of the wounded were shot by live bullets, three by rubber-coated metal bullets, and 25 suffered respiratory damage after inhaling teargas fired by the Israeli soldiers to disperse Palestinians who were throwing stones at them, reported Xinhua news agency.
Agencies
Arabs and Palestinians Welcome UN Resolution, Israelis Upset
Sunday, 1 January, 2023 -
Mahmoud Abbas (AFP) - Benjamin Netanyahu (AP)
Tel Aviv - Nazir Magally
Political sources in Tel Aviv have unveiled a plan to respond to the United Nations General Assembly resolution to ask for a legal opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the legal consequences of Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories.
The resolution was highly welcomed by the Arab countries and celebrated by Palestinians, except for Hamas which considered it “a paper tiger”.
An Israeli official noted that his country would resist the resolution and fight against its implementation.
"No international body can decide that the Jewish people are occupiers in their own homeland. Any decision from a judicial body which receives its mandate from the morally bankrupt and politicized UN is completely illegitimate," Israel's UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan said in a statement ahead of the vote.
The General Assembly on Friday approved the resolution asking for the ICJ to deliver its opinion on the Israeli occupation in Palestine, including Jerusalem.
Political sources in Tel Aviv revealed that Israel worked hard during the past 50 days to abort this resolution or reduce the number of countries in favor of the resolution.
Israeli Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu and Outgoing Prime Minister Yair Lapid exerted efforts in 60 countries and succeeded in reducing the votes in-favor of the resolution from 98 to 87.
The resolution was passed with 87 votes in favor to 26 against, with 53 abstentions.
The General Assembly asked the ICJ to give an advisory opinion on the legal consequences of Israel’s “occupation, settlement, and annexation, “including measures aimed at altering the demographic composition, character, and status of the Holy City of Jerusalem.”
The resolution also asks the ICJ to advise on how those policies and practices “affect the legal status of the occupation” and what legal consequences arise for all countries and the United Nations from this status.
The secretariat general of the Arab League (AL) welcomed the resolution, knowing that all of the Arab states voted in favor of it.
In a statement, Assistant Secretary-General for Palestinian and Arab Territories Affairs at the AL Dr. Saeed Abu-Ali said that the UN-sponsored resolution has constituted an important station and platform to confront the Israeli oppression against Palestinians through legal tracks.
He said that the resolution has reflected the will of the international community by scoring a victory for the principles of international law and legitimacy resolutions, including empowering the legal mechanisms to confront the Israeli practices and plots.
"The time has come for Israel to be a state subject to law, and to be held accountable for its ongoing crimes against our people," Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said.
For his part, Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said that “the resolution will add to the long list of international resolutions concerning Palestine, which have never tuned into a practical step to put pressure on the occupying regime even once.”
“As long as the US acts as a partner of the occupying regime and covers up Israeli crimes, all such decisions will remain on paper,” he added.
Although this decision takes time to become tangible, Israeli diplomacy is preparing to face it with a series of steps on the international level. There are some suggestions of withdrawing from the UN or expelling the UN representative from the region controlled by Israel.
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