UN General Assembly calls on Israel to end occupation

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) has overwhelmingly passed a resolution calling on Israel to end its unlawful occupation of the Palestinian territories within a year, a move Palestine has praised as "historic."

The non-binding resolution was adopted by a vote of 124-12 on September 18, with 43 nations choosing to abstain, Caliber.Az reports, citing the UN press service.

The UNGA demanded that “Israel bring an end, without delay, to its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, which constitutes a wrongful act of a continuing nature that carries international responsibility,” setting a deadline of no later than 12 months.

The resolution also called for Israel to pay reparations to Palestinians for damages caused by the occupation.

As the UNGA’s mission includes promoting "respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms," the vote highlights the extent of international opposition to Israel's occupation of Palestine.

Rejecting the text, Israel’s representative responded, “Perhaps you’ve forgotten, but we did not start this war – nor did we choose it.” He added that the first resolution presented to the Assembly should have been a unanimous condemnation of the terror attacks that took place on October 7, 2023. “Instead, we are here to witness the Palestinians’ UN circus – a circus where evil is deemed righteous, war is peace, murder is justified, and terror is applauded.” He further accused the resolution's supporters of enabling violence and empowering those who reject peace.

He also argued that the resolution distorts the International Court of Justice’s “flawed” advisory opinion, replaces truth with fiction, and completely disregards both Hamas' attack on October 7 and Israel's legitimate security concerns.

In addition, the representative of the Jewish state condemned the resolution as “diplomatic terrorism.” Raising the issue of bias, he questioned why Israel is singled out so frequently, noting that, since 2015, 155 Assembly resolutions have condemned Israel, compared to just 88 against all other countries combined.