What does the resolution passed by the UN regarding Israel's occupation of Palestine mean? Why has it come at this time? What is the history of the Israel-Palestine conflict? We take a look.
What resolution did the UN General Assembly pass?
On December 30, the United Nations' General Assembly passed a resolution to seek an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories. The ICJ has been asked to give a report on the legal consequences of Israel's "occupation, settlement and annexation ... including measures aimed at altering the demographic composition, character and status of the Holy City of Jerusalem, and from its adoption of related discriminatory legislation and measures," according to a report by Reuters.
The UN resolution also asks the ICJ to advise on how those policies and practices "affect the legal status of the occupation" and what legal consequences arise for all countries and the United Nations from this status. The resolution was adopted with 87 out of the General Assembly's 193 countries voting in favour, and 24 members voting against. India was among the 53 member countries that abstained from the vote.
Among those who voted against were the UK and the US, who have strong diplomatic ties with Israel. On the other hand, the Arab countries voted in favour of the resolution.
Since when has Israel been occupying Palestinian territory?
Ever since the war of 1967, also known as the Six-Day War between Arab countries and Israel for the Palestinian territories of West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem. The war was preceded by the ethnic cleansing of Palestinian people from the region, forcing more than 8,00,000 Palestinians to leave their homes to make way for Jewish settlers from around the world. This happened between 1947-48 and is known as the Nakba. The war in 1967 allowed Israel to take military control of the territories.
What has been the situation in Palestine since the occupation?
Apart from the displacement of millions of Palestinians, the occupation has seen Israel inflict massive casualties in Palestine. Just this year, reports suggest that the Israeli military has killed 200 people, including 53 children in Palestine. There has also been casualties on the Israeli side with armed attacks from the Palestinians, including the group Hamas.
What did Israel's Prime Minister recently declare?
Israel recently elected a far-right government, and releasing this government's agenda, Israeli Benjamin Netanyahu, who has retained power, has said, "The Jewish people have an exclusive and unquestionable right to all areas of the Land of Israel. The government shall promote and develop settlement in all parts of the Land of Israel." In the past, Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir said that Palestinians “didn’t exist” and that “there is no such a thing as a Palestinian people”.
What has been India's stand on the matter?
India abstained from voting on the matter on Friday.
In 1974, India became the first non-Arab country to recognise the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) as the "sole and legitimate representative of the Palestinian people". In fact, the first PLO office was set up in Delhi and an Embassy has been functional since 1980. It was also one of the first countries to recognise Palestinian statehood in 1988. India has extended support to Palestine at the UN, prior to the vote on Friday. It supported the UNGA Resolution of November 29, 2012, that admitted Palestine as a ‘non-member Observer state’ at the UN. It also voted in favour of accepting Palestine as a full member of UNESCO in 2011. And in 2014, when the ICJ was last asked to look into Israel's military offences in Gaza, India voted in favour of that resolution.
However, India also recognised the state of Israel in 1950 and Embassies have been functioning in India and Israel since 1992. India continues to build diplomatic ties with Israel and India-Israel bilateral merchandise trade grew from US$200 million in 1992 to US$7.86 billion during the financial year 2021-2022.