On Wednesday Greece voted in favor of a United Nations (UN) resolution that demands Israel stop its ‘unlawful presence’ of the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
The resolution was adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations following a vote of 124 countries in favor, 14 against and 43 abstentions.
Specifically, the resolution calls for “Israel to comply with international law and withdraw its military forces, immediately cease all new settlement activity, evacuate all settlers from occupied land, and dismantle parts of the separation wall it constructed inside the occupied West Bank,” according to a statement by the UN.
UN General Assembly ADOPTS resolution demanding that Israel “brings to an end without delay its unlawful presence” in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and do so within 12 months
Voting result
In favor: 124
Against: 14
Abstain: 43 pic.twitter.com/hIwn7y6EY4— UN News (@UN_News_Centre) September 18, 2024
The UN’s announcement on the decision also details that Israel must “return land and other ‘immovable property’, as well as all assets seized since the occupation began in 1967, and all cultural property and assets taken from Palestinians and Palestinian institutions.”
Palestinians displaced during the occupation should be able to return to their place of origin and Israel must make reparations for the damage caused by its occupation.
Amongst EU countries, the following 13 countries voted in favor of the resolution: Greece, the Republic of Cyprus, Belgium, Finland, France, Ireland, Portugal, Luxembourg, Malta, Slovenia, Spain, Estonia and Latvia.
The resolution, which was opposed by the United States and 13 other nations (including Israel), followed an advisory opinion issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in July, in which the Court declared that Israel’s continued presence in the disputed territories “is unlawful”, and that “all States are under an obligation not to recognize” what the UN referred to as “the decades-long occupation.”
