What to Know About the UN Vote on a Resolution to End the Occupation of Palestine

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On Wednesday, Palestine will appealto the UN General Assembly to end the occupation of Palestinian territories by Israel within 12 months. The resolution was written by the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority, urging Member States to act on a July advisory opinionby the International Court of Justice stating that Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories - including the presence of settlements - is a violation of international law. The resolution also calls for sanctions against Israel.

A special session of the General Assembly to vote on the draft measure was requested by the Arab Group, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Non-Aligned Movement. The resolution is expected to pass with the two-thirds majority required of peace and security issues deemed to be "Important Questions" by a simple majority of the body.

Though the ICJ advisory opinion and the GA resolution are non-binding, they carry significant political weight in some quarters.

Danny Danon, Israel's Ambassador to the UN, responded to the move by asking Member States to "reject this disgraceful resolution outright and instead adopt a resolution condemning Hamas and calling for the immediate release of all hostages." The Security Council and the General Assembly have both sought ceasefiresto end the war in Gaza, with release of hostages as a condition of cessation of hostilities.

Palestine's Standing in the General Assembly

The ability for Palestine to submit a resolution to the General Assembly was granted by a resolution passed by the GA in May that granted Palestine certain rights and privileges in the world body, while coming short of recognizing Palestinian statehood.

Since November 2012, Palestine has been a "Permanent Observer State" of the UN, a designation that permits participation in all UN proceedings, but does not grant voting powers or the right to run for elected positions in the UN's main organs and bodies, including the Security Council. These rights are reserved for full Member States.

As of June 2024, the State of Palestine is recognized as a sovereign state bilaterally by 146 of the 193 Member States of the United Nations - roughly three-fourths of countries globally.

The 79th session of the UN General Assembly will likely see a number of actions condemning Israel after months of war and a mounting humanitarian crisis following the Oct. 7th terrorist attack by Hamas against Israel. While the majority of military action has taken place in Gaza, violence against Palestinians in the West Bank is on the rise, prompting criticismby UN human rights bodies. Israel and Palestine will address the Assembly on Thursday, Sept. 19 during the traditional series of speeches from world leaders that kick off the annual gathering.

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