Palestinians can claim restitution for ‘occupation,’ 160 UN nations say

Palestinians have a right to claim restitution for their loss of natural resources due to the Israeli occupation, the United Nations General Assembly said on Wednesday.

It approved by 160-6, with 15 abstentions an annual resolution called “Permanent sovereignty of the Palestinian people in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including east Jerusalem, and of the Arab population in the occupied Syrian Golan over their natural resources.”

It is one of 17 annual pro-Palestinian and anti-Israeli resolutions the UNGA has approved this month. The UNGA is slated to vote on at least two other such texts this month.

The six opposing countries were: Canada, Israel, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru and the United States.

The 15 abstaining nations were: Australia, Brazil, Cameron, Côte d’Ivoire, Guatemala, Honduras, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, Rwanda, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Togo, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.

All the European Union member states voted for the resolution.

A screenshot of the voting on the UN General Assembly supporting Palestinian restitution claims. (credit: Screenshot)

The text reaffirmed the rights of the Palestinians and Syrians on the Golan to the “natural resources, including land, water and energy resources.”

It recognized “the right of the Palestinian people to claim restitution as a result of any exploitation, damage, loss or depletion or endangerment of their natural resources resulting from illegal measures taken by Israel, the occupying Power, and Israeli settlers in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including east Jerusalem,” the resolution stated.

It declared that Israel’s security barrier is illegal and called on Israel “to cease immediately and completely all policies and measures aimed at the alteration of the character and status of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including east Jerusalem.”

Israel must halt the “dumping of all kinds of waste materials, in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including east Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan,” the resolution stated.

It called on Israel to halt the demolition of Palestinian homes and the destruction of vital Palestinian infrastructure.

The resolution also called on UN member states not consider the territory over the pre-1967 lines to be part of Israel.