The resolution, adopted by 87 countries of the General Assembly, divided Western countries. It does not take on a binding character but sends a signal to the new government of Benjamin Netanyahu.
MO12345lemonde with AFP
The UN General Assembly adopted on Friday a resolution asking the International Court of Justice (CIJ) to look at the question of the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories, in the aftermath of the government’s investiture further right in the history of Israel.
The resolution was adopted with 87 votes for, 26 against, and 53 abstentions, the Western states being shared on the question while the Arab countries have unanimously voted to, including those who have normalized their relations with Israel, and that China and Russia have also voted in favor.
The text urges the UN Court based in The Hague, in the Netherlands, to determine “the legal consequences of the persistent violation by Israel of the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination”, as well as its measures “aimed at Modify the demographic composition, the character and the status of the holy city of Jerusalem “.
no binding powers
The Palestinian representative at the UN, Riyad Mansour, said that the vote sent a signal to the new government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in connection with his desire to strengthen “colonial and racist” policies and praised the states that did not be “dissuaded by threats and pressures”.
Upstream of the vote, the Israeli ambassador Gilad Erdan described the resolution of “moral spot on the UN”. “No international organization can decide whether the Jewish people are an occupant in their own native land,” he added. “Any decision of a judicial organization which receives its mandate from the United Nations politicized and in moral bankruptcy is completely illegitimate,” also said Erdan.
The resolution also calls on Israel to end the colonies, but the general assembly does not have binding powers, unlike the Security Council where the United States, allies of Israel, have a right of veto . The United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany has opposed the resolution and France has abstained. “We do not think that a referral to the International Court of Justice helps to bring the stakeholders back to a dialogue,” said British diplomat Thomas Phipps.