Responding to the news that the UN General Assembly has adopted a resolution today demanding that Israel end its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) within 12 months, in compliance with the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) July advisory opinion, Amnesty International’s Secretary General, Agnès Callamard, said:
“Today’s resolution makes crystal-clear that Israel’s 57-year occupation of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, in flagrant violation of international law, cannot be allowed to continue any longer.
“Israel must comply with the resolution immediately by withdrawing its forces from the West Bank, including illegally annexed East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip, occupied since 1967. Israel must also remove all settlers from the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and reverse its annexation, both in law and in practice.
“This resolution vindicates long-standing calls from the Palestinian people and many countries around the world, by pursuing the implementation of the ICJ’s historic advisory opinion which confirmed Israel has a legal obligation to end its unlawful occupation of the OPT and its systemic discrimination against the occupied Palestinian population.
“For decades Israel’s unlawful occupation has brought injustice, bloodshed and suffering to Palestinians on a mass scale. Over the past 11 months the systematic human rights violations that are a hallmark of Israel’s brutal occupation and system of apartheid have drastically intensified.
“Israel’s unprecedented onslaught against Palestinians in Gaza is exacting a deplorable toll on the civilian population, causing deaths, injuries, mass destruction of critical infrastructure, decimation of cities and successive waves of forced displacement. It has rendered Gaza virtually unlivable and plunged the Strip into one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world, compounding an already dire humanitarian situation stemming from Israel’s 17-year-long illegal blockade of Gaza. In the meantime, Israel has intensified its oppressive campaign against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, through lethal military operations accompanied by extensive damage of civilian infrastructure, unlawful killings, escalation in arbitrary arrests, torture and other ill-treatment, while settler violence is spiking with impunity and displacing Palestinians.
“Implementing the UNGA’s resolution is key to restoring faith in international law. This is a critical juncture for the international community. States, including allies of Israel, must ensure Israel complies with the resolution and puts an end to its persistent disregard for international law, human rights and the historic injustices against Palestinians.
“Pending an end to Israel’s occupation, third states must immediately stop all forms of aid or assistance that help maintain the unlawful occupation, including halting arms transfers to Israel and ceasing all trade with illegal settlements.
“They must also support the establishment of the mechanisms indicated in the resolution namely, to record all damages caused by Israel’s military occupation and the one to address Israel’s violations of the Convention for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. These mechanisms must be designed and effectively resourced to hold perpetrators accountable, deliver justice to victims without and put an end to Israel’s system of apartheid against all Palestinians whose rights it controls.”
Background
The UNGA resolution passed with 124 votes in favour, 43 abstentions and 14 against including the US and Israel. The resolution put forward by the State of Palestine was based on a July advisory opinion by the ICJ that said Israel’s continued presence in the OPT is illegal and that settlements should be removed as rapidly as possible.
