Philemon Yang, President of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly, speaks at the opening of the UN General Assembly’s 79th session at the UN headquarters on September 10, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Wang Fan/China News Service/VCG )No Use China.
The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) is expected to vote on a Palestinian resolution demanding that Israel end what it referred to as an “unlawful presence” in East Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and the Gaza Strip.
Palestinian Ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour told the UNGA on Tuesday that Palestinians are facing an “existential threat” and called on the global body to vote for the resolution and end the Israeli “occupation.”
While the Palestinian Authority (PA) is not yet recognized as a full UN member, the UNGA voted in May that it is qualified to join and recommended that the UN Security Council reconsider granting the PA full membership. Consequently, the Palestinian Mission to the UN is now able to submit resolutions to the General Assembly.
The current resolution was submitted with support from the Arab Group, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Non-Aligned Movement. Israel previously threatened to halt cooperation with the PA if it proceeded with the resolution.
The text of the resolution states that Israel must remove “all its military forces from the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including its airspace and maritime space.”
If enacted, the resolution would force the IDF to withdraw from all of Judea and Samaria (West Bank), as well as East Jerusalem, including the Old City, and Gaza. Such an action would severely cripple Israel’s ability to defend itself from attacks.
Israeli UN Ambassador Danny Danon also addressed the UNGA, calling on member states to reject the resolution after calling the measure “an attempt to destroy Israel through diplomatic terrorism” and said that it “ignores the truth, twists the facts and replaces reality with fiction.”
“Instead of a resolution condemning the rape and massacre committed by Hamas on Oct. 7, we gather here to watch the Palestinians’ U.N. circus — a circus where evil is righteous, war is peace, murder is justified and terror is applauded,” Danon stated.
“This resolution doesn’t move the region forward, it drags the region backward, delaying the hope for peace and advancement.”
The resolution would not be legally binding; however, resolutions by the UN General Assembly are considered significant expressions of global opinion.
The move by Palestinian representatives is also an attempt to reinforce the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in July, which ruled that Israeli settlements in the West Bank are illegal. Such opinions by the court are also not binding.
U.S. Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas Greenfield told reporters that the Palestinian resolution has “a significant number of flaws,” including that it fails to recognize Hamas as a terror organization, which was the ruling authority in Gaza before the war. She also said that the resolution exceeds the ICJ ruling in its claims.
“In our view, the resolution does not bring about tangible benefits across the board for the Palestinian people,” Greenfield said. “I think it could complicate the situation on the ground, complicate what we’re trying to do to end the conflict, and I think it impedes reinvigorating steps toward a two-state solution.”
A group of U.S. Senators, including Republican vice-presidential nominee, Sen. J.D. Vance, released a statement slamming the Palestinian resolution.
The senators called on the international community to “focus its energy and resources” on defeating terror groups such as Hamas.
“Instead of proposing biased and counter-productive initiatives, which will do nothing to advance a lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians, the international community must focus its energy and resources on ensuring Hamas and other terrorist groups are completely destroyed,” the statement said, continuing, “We must remain firm to ensure every single hostage held by these terrorists is safely returned to their loved ones.”
The statement called the Palestinian resolution a “clear insult to the Jewish people and anyone who understands history.”
“This proposal introduced by the Palestinian delegation, ahead of the United Nations’ General Assembly, is an absolute disgrace that rewards terrorism. It is a clear insult to the Jewish people and anyone who understands history,” the senators wrote.
In addition to Vance, the statement was signed by senators Tom Cotton (R-AR), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Rick Scott (R-FL), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Tim Scott (R-SC), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Jim Risch (R-ID), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), John Kennedy (R-LA), John Hoeven (R-ND), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Ted Budd (R-NC), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), John Barrasso (R-WY), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Josh Hawley (R-MO), James Lankford (R-OK), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Mike Braun (R-IN), John Thune (R-SD), Roger Wicker (R-MS), John Cornyn (R-TX), and Katie Boyd Britt (R-AL).
