UN General Assembly Adopts Resolutions Against Israeli Occupation of Palestinian Territories and Golan Heights
The United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, December 12, adopted two resolutions calling for an end to Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories and the Syrian Golan Heights.
The resolution concerning the Palestinian issue was introduced by several Arab countries, including Djibouti, Jordan, Mauritania, Qatar, Senegal, and Palestine, and was approved by a broad majority of 151 UN member states. Only 11 countries, including the United States and Israel, voted against it, while 11 others abstained.
The resolution reaffirms the UN’s ongoing responsibility towards the Palestinian people, calls for an immediate end to the occupation of territories seized after 1967, and supports the two-state solution as the path to achieving a just peace.
The second resolution, proposed by the Egyptian government, urges Israel to withdraw from the Syrian Golan Heights. The resolution declares the occupation and annexation of the territory illegal and in violation of UN Security Council Resolution 497 from 1981.
This resolution passed with 123 votes in favor, 7 against—including the United States and Israel—and 41 abstentions. Syria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed the decision, describing it as a sign of broad international support for Syria’s territorial integrity and its sovereignty over the occupied Golan Heights.
These resolutions were adopted while the Taliban administration in Afghanistan has yet to express a clear position on supporting Palestinian rights or condemning the occupation—despite near-unanimous backing from Islamic and Arab nations for the Palestinian cause.
