Iran Press/ America: The vote in the General Assembly’s Special Political and Decolonization Committee was 98-17, with 52 abstentions. The resolution will now go to the 193-member assembly for a final vote before the end of the year when it is virtually certain of approval.
The measure was vehemently opposed by the Zionist regime of Israel, which argued it would destroy any chance of reconciliation with the Palestinians.
The draft cites the Zionist regime’s violation of Palestinian rights to self-determination “from its prolonged occupation, settlement, and annexation of the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including measures aimed at altering the demographic composition, character, and status of the holy city of Jerusalem al Quds, and from its adoption of related discriminatory legislation and measures.”
It would ask the court for an opinion on how the Zionist regime policies and practices “affect the legal status of the occupation, and what are the legal consequences that arise for all states and the United Nations from this status.”
The International Court of Justice, also known as the world court, is one of the UN’s main organs and is charged with settling disputes between countries. Its opinions are not binding.
This is not the first opinion sought from the court stemming from the nearly 75-year-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In 2004, the court said that a barrier that the Zionist regime had built, mainly inside the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem al Quds— which, along with the Gaza Strip, are territories Palestinians seek for their future state — was “contrary to international law.”
The draft also demands the Zionist regime comply with the court’s 2004 decision and stop the construction of the wall, dismantle it, and make reparations for all damage caused by its construction, “which has gravely impacted the human rights" and living conditions of Palestinians.
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