India has abstained in the UN General Assembly on a resolution that demanded Israel bring an end, “without delay”, to its “unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory” within 12 months.
The 193-member General Assembly adopted the resolution, with 124 nations voting in favour; 14 against; and 43 abstentions.
Those abstaining included India, Australia, Canada, Germany, Italy, Nepal, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom.
Israel and the United States were among the nations that voted against the resolution, titled ‘Advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on the legal consequences arising from Israel’s policies and practices in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and from the illegality of Israel’s continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory’.
The resolution, adopted yesterday, demanded that “Israel brings to an end without delay its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, which constitutes a wrongful act of a continuing character entailing its international responsibility, and do so no later than 12 months from the adoption of the present resolution”.
The Palestinian-drafted resolution also strongly deplored the alleged disregard and breaches by the Government of Israel of its obligations under the Charter of the United Nations, international law and the relevant United Nations resolutions. It stressed that such breaches seriously threatened regional and international peace and security.
Israel must be held to account for any violations of international law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, said the resolution, including any violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law.
The Jewish nation “must bear the legal consequences of all its internationally wrongful acts, including by making reparation for the injury, including any damage, caused by such acts”, said the Arab side.
