In a significant move, the UN General Assembly’s Human Rights Committee voted to approve its annual resolution reaffirming the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination.
This decision references the Hague Court’s finding that Israeli “occupation” of the West Bank is illegal and must be brought to an immediate end.
The resolution received overwhelming support, with 164 votes in favor and only 7 against, including the United States, Israel, Argentina, Paraguay, Micronesia, Nauru, and Papua New Guinea.
International Stabilization Force in Gaza
The recent development follows the UN’s adoption of Resolution 2803, which authorizes the establishment of an International Stabilization Force (ISF) in Gaza and was voted on Monday.
In a press release regarding the resolution, the UN stated, “The Security Council today endorsed the United States-backed ‘Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict,’ welcomed the establishment of the Board of Peace, and authorized the Board and Member States working with it to create a temporary ISF in Gaza.”
A new course in the Middle East
After the resolution was adopted, a US representative expressed gratitude to the Council members for “joining us in charting a new course in the Middle East for Israelis, Palestinians, and all the people of the region alike.”
However, the resolution has been met with criticism from UN experts, who are concerned that its adoption undermines the push for the Palestinian right to self-determination and reinforces Israel’s presence in Palestinian territories.
UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Francesca Albanese, commented on the resolution’s passing, stating, “I welcome the UN Security Council’s renewed attention on Gaza and the urgent need for a permanent ceasefire, but I am deeply perplexed.
“Despite the horrors of the last two years and the ICJ’s clear jurisprudence, the Council has chosen not to ground its response in the very body of law it is obliged to uphold: international human rights law, including the right of self-determination, the law governing the use of force, international humanitarian law, and the UN Charter.”
Albanese argued that instead of paving the way for an end to the “occupation” and ensuring the protection of Palestinians, the resolution risks entrenching external control over Gaza’s governance, borders, security, and reconstruction.
“The resolution betrays the very people it claims to protect,” she stated.
She further emphasized, “Essentially, it will leave Palestine in the hands of a puppet administration, assigning the US, which shares complicity in the genocide, as the new manager of the open-air prison that Israel has already established.”