The United Nations General Assembly on Friday adopted a resolution asking the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to look into the question of the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories, the day after the inauguration of the most right-wing government in the history of Israel.
The resolution was adopted with 87 votes for, 26 against, and 53 abstentions, with Western states, split on the issue while Arab countries voted unanimously in favor, including those that have normalized their relations with Israel, and China and Russia also voted in favor.
The text urges the UN court based in The Hague, Netherlands, to determine “the legal consequences of Israel’s continuing violation of the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination”, as well as its measures “aimed at changing the composition demographics, character and status of the Holy City of Jerusalem”.
Palestinian representative to the UN Riyad Mansour said the vote sent a signal to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s new government about its willingness to reinforce “colonial and racist” policies and hailed states that did not be “deterred by threats and pressure”.
Ahead of the vote, Israeli Ambassador Gilad Erdan called the resolution a “moral stain on the UN”.
“No international organization can decide whether the Jewish people are occupiers in their own homeland,” he added.
“Any decision by a judicial organization that receives its mandate from a politicized and morally bankrupt United Nations is completely illegitimate,” Erdan also said.
The resolution also calls on Israel to put an end to the settlements, but the General Assembly does not have binding powers, unlike the Security Council where the United States, allies of Israel, have a right to veto.
The US, UK, and Germany opposed the resolution and France abstained.
“We don’t believe a referral to the International Court of Justice will help bring stakeholders back to dialogue,” said British diplomat Thomas Phipps.
