U.N. General Assembly widely supports Palestinian resolution demanding Israel end its occupation; India abstains from voting

UN General Assembly votes in favor of nonbinding resolution demanding Israel end "unlawful presence" in Gaza and West Bank.

The UN General Assembly strongly supported a nonbinding Palestinian resolution Wednesday (September 18, 2024) demanding that Israel end its “unlawful presence” in Gaza and the occupied West Bank within a year.

The vote in the 193-member world body was 124-14. Among those in opposition was the United States, Israel's closest ally. India was among the 43 abstentions.

The resolution was adopted as Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza approaches its first anniversary and as violence in the West Bank reaches new highs. Troubled efforts to broker a cease-fire deal in Gaza and are pressing ahead, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken meeting fellow mediators Wednesday in Egypt, even as attacks elsewhere in the region raise fears of escalating conflict in the Middle East.

Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian UN ambassador, called the vote a turning point "in our struggle for freedom and justice.” “It sends a clear message that Israel's occupation must end as soon as possible and that the Palestinian people's right to self-determination must be realised,” he said.

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Israel's UN Ambassador, Danny Danon, slammed the vote as “a shameful decision that backs the Palestinian Authority's diplomatic terrorism.” “Instead of marking the anniversary of the October 7 massacre by condemning Hamas and calling for the release of all 101 of the remaining hostages, the General Assembly continues to dance to the music of the Palestinian Authority, which backs the Hamas murderers,” Danon said.

While the resolution is not legally binding, the extent of its support reflects world opinion. There are no vetoes in the General Assembly, unlike in the 15-member Security Council.