The United Nations General Assembly, Wednesday, unanimously endorsed a
resolution that acknowledges the Palestinian people’s permanent
sovereignty over the occupied Palestinian territories (OPT) including
the Gaza Strip, West Bank and East Jerusalem.
164 UN member states voted for the resolution, 6 rejected and 9 others abstained including Canada, Kameron, Kut Divora and Uganda.
As of this year, such a resolution has gained 8 further votes compared with the previous years of 2004 and 2005.
The resolution was based on the UN Security Council’s resolutions 242 of 1967, 465 of 1980, 497 of 1981, the United Nations’ charter, the Fourth Geneva Convention for the protection of the unarmed civilians in times of war as well as all other relevant human rights conventions.
The General Assembly also expressed concern over exploitation by the Israeli occupation authority, referred to as the ‘occupying power’, of Palestinian natural resources of the OPT, including farm lands and uprooting trees along with the devastation of Palestinian infrastructure.
The UN body also emphasized the need to swiftly resume the Middle East peace process on basis of the UN Security Council’s resolutions and the road map peace plan, leading to a two-state solution for Palestine and Israel and a final compromise at all other tracks including the Syrian and the Lebanese.
According to international legitimacy, mainly the United Nations, the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and East Jerusalem are occupied Palestinian territories, from which Israel must withdraw immediately. Since 1967, Israel has imposed strict military control over such territories, most recently with an Apartheid Wall, growing settlement buildings in the West Bank and continued closure of the Gaza Strip, despite unilateral disengagement in 2005.
