Smoke rises over Khan Yunis during Israeli bombardment in the southern Gaza Strip on December 19, 2023. (Photo by Said Khatib / AFP)
New York: The United Nations General Assembly adopted by an overwhelming majority the draft resolution entitled "Permanent sovereignty of the Palestinian people in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and of the Arab population in the occupied Syrian Golan over their natural resources".
A total of 158 countries voted in favor to 6 against with 13 abstentions.
The resolution affirms a set of principles and foundations related to Palestinian natural resources, such as the application of the Geneva Convention regarding the protection of civilians in times of war in occupied Palestinian lands, and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
It also recalls the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice regarding the separation wall and racial expansion.
The resolution also affirmed the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people to their natural resources, demanding the Israeli entity to stop exploiting these resources, as Palestinians have the right to demand compensation for those actions; stressing that the Israeli occupation's construction of settlements, the wall, and other works harm the Palestinian environment.
