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4th Committee of the UN adopts five resolutions related to the Palestine

The resolutions included issues on settlement expansion and the protection of the Palestinian people.

Jerusalem24 – The Fourth Committee of the General Assembly on Political and Decolonization Questions at the United Nations adopted five resolutions related to the Palestinian question by an overwhelming majority.

At the top of the resolutions is the resolution concerned with support for Palestine refugees, which includes the mandate of “UNRWA” and won the support of 160 countries, while only Israel voted against it and 9 countries, including the United States, abstained, knowing that the United States has been voting against it in recent years, and the Israeli settlement decision Which received the support of 142 countries, while 7 countries (Israel, the United States, Canada, Hungary, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, and Nauru) voted against it and 16 countries abstained.

The Israeli settlements resolution condemns Israeli settlement activities, affirms their illegality and calls for their cessation, and affirms the illegality and non-recognition of Israeli annexation policies, including with regard to East Jerusalem.

For the first time, this resolution recognized the racist dimension of these policies, including the building of settlements and the demolition of Palestinian homes, which threaten the viability of the two-state solution and entrench the reality of unequal rights and discrimination, and hinder the ability of the Palestinian people to exercise their basic rights, as stated in the resolution.

The resolution also welcomed, for the first time, the recommendations of the Secretary-General on providing protection to the Palestinian people, including those related to strengthening existing protection mechanisms.

The representative of the State of Palestine to the United Nations, Ambassador Riyad Mansour, thanked the countries for their principled stance, rejection and explicit condemnation of the occupation policies, and stressed that this vote is a clear international message from the General Assembly that comes one day after the Security Council meeting, which expressed similar positions.

Mansour called for translating this international consensus into steps on the ground, implementing UN resolutions, including Security Council Resolution 2334, and taking practical measures to stop settlements, end the occupation, provide protection for the Palestinian people, their institutions and their holy sites, and continue to provide support to Palestine refugees, including through UNRWA” and supporting the realization of his inalienable rights, including his right to self-determination and return.

The adoption of the settlement resolution in the General Assembly comes after the closed meeting of the UN Security Council held on Monday, the eighth of this month, which focused on the subject of the recent Israeli settlement declaration and the classification of six Palestinian institutions as “terrorist” organizations, which witnessed a clear position of the members of the Council against these resolutions. This position was manifested in a statement by the European member states of the Council, namely: France, Ireland, Estonia, Norway, and Albania (which will join the Council next year), in which these states affirmed the illegality of settlement and their rejection of settlement expansion and their demand that Israel reverse its decisions in this regard, and stop Settlement construction in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and its failure to recognize any change to the pre-1967 borders, including in Jerusalem, other than those agreed upon by the two parties.

These countries also expressed their deep concern about the Israeli decision to classify Palestinian civil society institutions as “terrorist” organizations and the political, legal and financial consequences of this decision, and demanded that Israel provide clarifications in this regard and provide it with the information on which it relied on making this decision, so that it can review it, with emphasis on the The important role of civil society in promoting human rights, international law and democratic values.

Mohammad Hamayel

Ramallah based journalist, Mohammad graduated from Al-Quds University with a B.A. in Media and Television. He has covered the 2015 Jerusalem Intifada as well as the Great March of Return for international media outlets. currently an editor/presenter at Jerusalem24. A UN alumni and a follower of global events and politics, especially American affairs.

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