UNGA Backs Call for ICJ Opinion on Israel-Palestinian Conflict

The United Nations General Assembly on Friday approved a resolution asking for the International Court of Justice to deliver its opinion on the legal implications of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including Israel’s “annexation” of territories and the “legal status of the occupation.”

The resolution passed with 87 votes in favor to 26 against, with 53 abstentions. Britain, Germany and the United States were among those who voted against, while Denmark, France, Japan and Sweden abstained. All of the Arab states, including those who have recently embraced Israel as an ally, voted in favor.

Israeli Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan slammed the resolution as “a moral stain on the UN,” which he branded as a “morally bankrupt and politicized” body.

Erdan also criticized the fact that the vote had been held during the Sabbath, calling it “another example of the moral decay of the UN, which prevents Israel’s position from being heard in a vote whose results are predetermined.”

Israel did not vote on the resolution due to the timing, with the US casting a proxy vote.

The Palestinian Authority hailed the decision, with Hussein al-Sheikh, a senior advisor to PA President Mahmoud Abbas, saying that the vote “reflects the victory of Palestinian diplomacy.”