Israel has issued a fierce response to Wednesday’s vote by the United Nations General Assembly demanding the Jewish State withdraw from all post-1967 territories, including disputed areas in Judea, Samaria and the Jordan Valley which were previously designate as Area C, under full Israeli administrative and security control, under the internationally-recognized Oslo Accords.
The General Assembly voted 124 to 14 to pass the resolution, with 43 abstentions, which demands that Israel “brings to an end without delay its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory” — in order words, to carry out a disengagement from all post-1967 areas of Israel, including those in Judea, Samaria, half of Jerusalem, and the Jordan Valley.
The resolution, which was opposed by the United States and 13 other nations (including Israel), followed an advisory opinion issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in July, in which the Court declared that Israel’s continued presence in the disputed territories “is unlawful”, and that “all States are under an obligation not to recognize” what the UN referred to as “the decades-long occupation.”
US allies Australia, Canada, Germany, and Ukraine were among those who abstained, contributing to the lopsided vote. Those who joined the US and Israel in opposing the resolution were: Argentina, the Czech Republic, Fiji, Hungary, Malawi, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Tonga, and Tuvalu.
The full vote can be accessed here.
The resolution calls for Israel to comply with international law and withdraw its military forces, immediately cease all new settlement activity, evacuate all settlers from occupied land, and dismantle parts of the separation wall it constructed inside the occupied West Bank.
The General Assembly further demanded that Israel return land and other “immovable property”, as well as all assets seized since the occupation began in 1967, and all cultural property and assets taken from Palestinians and Palestinian institutions.
The resolution also demands Israel allow all Palestinians displaced during the occupation to return to their place of origin and make reparation for the damage caused by its occupation.
The resolution constitutes a major win for the Palestinian Authority, which continues to shell out millions of dollars each year to encourage its population to help annihilate the Jewish State. The Ramallah government pays generous monthly salaries to convicted terrorists incarcerated in Israel, and the families of those who died while attempting to murder Israelis, but the international community has turned a blind eye to its state-sponsored terrorism.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry issued a fierce response, rejecting the “distorted and disconnected from reality” decision and thanking the leaders of those nations who voted to oppose it.
“The political theater called the General Assembly today adopted a distorted decision that is disconnected from reality, encourages terrorism and harms the chances for peace. This is what being disconnected looks like; this is what cynical international politics looks like,” the ministry declared.
“The decision of the General Assembly tells a one-sided, fictional story, in which countless murderous terrorist attacks on the citizens of the State of Israel do not take place; in which Israeli children, women and men were not victims of the horrific atrocities committed by the Hamas terrorist organization during the October 7 massacre; in which Israel is not being attacked on a daily basis from seven different fronts – including Gaza and Judea and Samaria – by terrorist organizations led by Iran; and where the State of Israel and the Jewish people have no historical rights in the Land of Israel. The General Assembly’s decision ignores reality, Israel’s security needs and terrorism against its citizens.
“The General Assembly decision bolsters and strengthens the Hamas terrorist organization and the Iranian terrorist state that stands behind it. The resolution sends a message that terrorism pays off and yields international resolutions. The decision only encourages Hamas’ rejectionism with regards to the deal for the release of the hostages and a ceasefire and further distances the possibility of reaching such a deal.
“The General Assembly decision also undermines the foundation of any attempt to promote a peaceful solution to the conflict. The decision is contrary to the basic principle that underlies all the peace agreements and understandings reached so far between Israel and its neighbors, according to which the resolution of the conflict is possible only through direct negotiations between the parties. Therefore, everyone who is interested in peace should oppose the decision passed today.
“The Palestinian Authority that initiated the decision is not interested in peace, but in defaming Israel. The Palestinian Authority is conducting a campaign whose goal is not to resolve the conflict but to harm Israel. Israel will respond accordingly.
“Israel rejects the distorted and disconnected from reality decision of the General Assembly and thanks the leading countries that did not join the march of folly that took place today in New York.”
