The United Nations General Assembly adopted a new UN draft resolution affirming Syria’s sovereignty over the occupied Golan Heights
The United Nations General Assembly has adopted a new draft resolution affirming the inalienable and inalienable rights of the Syrian people in the occupied Golan Heights and the Palestinians in their occupied territories, including their full right to their natural resources.
The resolution condemns the practices of the Israeli occupation and its exploitation of natural resources in the Palestinian territories and the occupied Syrian Golan Heights, stressing the right of peoples to sovereignty over their lands, waters and energies.
The Second Committee of the United Nations, which specializes in economic and financial affairs, approved on Wednesday the draft resolution entitled: “The permanent sovereignty of the Palestinian people in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, and of the Arab population in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights over their natural resources”.
The bill was introduced by the Group of 77 and China, and received the support of 152 countries, including all EU countries and Canada, while only 8 countries, including the United States and Israel, opposed it, and 12 abstained.
The resolution reaffirms that Israel’s presence in the occupied territories is illegal, based on the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
The resolution also refers to the advisory opinion issued by the International Court of Justice on July 19, 2024, which addressed the legal implications of Israeli policies and practices in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and affirmed the illegality of the continued Israeli occupation, in addition to recalling the court’s previous advisory opinion on the separation wall and settlement expansion policies.
The resolution expressed grave concern that Israel continues to deplete Palestinian natural resources and destroy agricultural land and critical infrastructure, such as water and electricity networks, particularly in the Gaza Strip, and it also warned of the devastating effects of illegal settlements on Palestinian life in all its aspects.
The resolution reaffirms the provisions of Security Council Resolution 2334, which called on the international community to distinguish between the territories of the State of Israel and the territories it has occupied since 1967.
