United Nations General Assembly.
| Photo Credit: AP
India voted in favour of a decision within the UN General Assembly that condemns Israeli settlement actions within the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
The draft decision titled ‘Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and the occupied Syrian Golan’ was permitted by the Special Political and Decolonization Committee (Fourth Committee) of the UN General Assembly by a recorded vote of 145 in favour, seven in opposition to and 18 abstentions on Thursday.
Those voting in opposition to the decision have been Canada, Hungary, Israel, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru and the United States.
India was among the many 145 nations that voted in favour of the decision together with Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, France, Japan, Malaysia, Maldives, Russia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and the U.Ok.
By the phrases of the decision, the Assembly would condemn settlement actions within the Occupied Palestinian Territory, together with East Jerusalem, and within the occupied Syrian Golan and any actions involving the confiscation of land, the disruption of the livelihood of protected individuals, the compelled switch of civilians and the annexation of land, whether or not de facto or by nationwide laws.
The decision “Condemns”… “settlement activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan and any activities involving the confiscation of land, the disruption of the livelihood of protected persons, the forced transfer of civilians and the annexation of land, whether de facto or through national legislation.”
The decision “Reaffirms that the Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan are illegal and an obstacle to peace and economic and social development.”
The decision reiterated “its demand for the immediate and complete cessation of all Israeli settlement activities in all of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan.”
The voting on the decision got here simply days after India had abstained within the UN General Assembly on a decision that known as for a direct humanitarian truce within the Israel-Hamas battle resulting in a cessation of hostilities and unhindered humanitarian entry within the Gaza strip.
The 193-member UN General Assembly met in a resumed tenth Emergency Special Session in October and voted on the draft decision submitted by Jordan and co-sponsored by over 40 nations together with Bangladesh, Maldives, Pakistan, Russia and South Africa.
The decision titled ‘Protection of civilians and upholding legal and humanitarian obligations’ was adopted with 120 nations voting in favour, 14 in opposition to and 45 abstentions.
Along with India, nations abstaining on the decision included Australia, Canada, Germany, Japan, Ukraine and the United Kingdom.
In its Explanation of Vote after the UNGA decision final month, India’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Yojna Patel had mentioned “In a world where differences and disputes should be resolved by dialogue, this august body should be deeply concerned at recourse to violence. That too, when it happens on a scale and intensity that is an affront to basic human values.”
Describing the fear assaults in Israel on October 7 as stunning, Patel mentioned they deserve condemnation.
“Terrorism is a malignancy and knows no borders, nationality or race. The world should not buy into any justification of terror acts. Let us keep aside differences, unite and adopt a zero-tolerance approach to terrorism,” she had mentioned.
Source: www.thehindu.com
