RAMALLAH, The Fourth Committee of the UN General Assembly adopted today Palestine’s draft resolution to request a legal advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice on the nature of the existence of the Israeli colonial occupation in the land of the State of Palestine, including Jerusalem.

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Riyad Al-Maliki commended the vote of the member states of the United Nations in favor of the resolution on Israeli practices and settlement activities that affect the rights of the Palestinian people.

He said that 98 countries voted in favor of the resolution, 52 countries abstained, and 17 countries voted against, adding that this resolution deals with the legal consequences resulting from Israel’s continued violation of the right of self-determination of the Palestinian people through its colonial regime of apartheid and racial segregation.

Al-Maliki underscored the State of Palestine’s request from the International Court of Justice to answer the question about the nature and form of this long-term, illegal occupation and its crimes, and the need to define the responsibilities and duties of Israel, the illegal occupying power, the international community as a whole, third parties, and the United Nations to end this phenomenon that is fuelling instability and endangering peace and security in the region.

Al-Maliki expressed his thanks to the brotherly and friendly countries that adopted and sponsored the resolution and those that voted in favor, in addition to everyone who contributed to this historic achievement, calling on the countries that did not support the resolution to respect the rules of international law and not to stand on the wrong side of history.

He expressed the need to take urgent measures to address the root causes of this historical injustice against the Palestinian people, represented by the Israeli occupation, demanding pressure on Israel to end its human rights violations, war crimes and occupation. He also demanded protection for the Palestinian people from the brutality of the Israeli occupation’s government, army and settler militias.

Al-Maliki considered the resolution a diplomatic and legal victory that has been achieved thanks to the hard work of the Palestinian diplomacy abroad through the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates and all its missions worldwide.

Al-Maliki expressed his hope that the resolution will open a new era for holding Israel accountable for its war crimes in line with the recent speech of President Mahmoud Abbas at the United Nations, leading to the dismantling of the Israeli colonial and apartheid regime.

Source: Palestine News & Info Agency