Philippines votes for UN resolution urging Israel end occupation of Palestinian territory in 1 year

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines has voted in favor of a United Nations resolution urging Israel to end its "unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory" within a year.

The UN General Assembly adopted the non-binding measure with a 124-14 vote on Wednesday, September 18, with 43 countries abstaining. Israel was among those who opposed the resolution.

The Palestinian-drafted text calls on Israel to remove its "unlawful presence" from occupied Palestinian territory, withdraw its troops, cease all new settlements and return all land properties that were seized since its occupation started in 1967. 

Legal basis. The resolution is based on a landmark opinion issued by the International Court of Justice in July that Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories breached international law.

In its advisory opinion, the UN’s highest court declared Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip as unlawful and tantamount to annexation.

The court also found that Israel’s imposition of a near-complete segregation between Palestinians and Israeli settlers in the West Bank violate Article 3 of the UN treaty prohibiting racial discrimination.   

Reparations. To ensure reparations, the text proposes the creation of an international mechanism that will collect and maintain evidence of the damage or injuries inflicted by "the internationally wrongful acts of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory."

The resolution stressed the "need to ensure accountability for the most serious crimes under international law through appropriate, fair and independent investigations and prosecutions at the national or international level, and to ensure justice for all victims and the prevention of future crimes."

Among the countries who voted for the measure were China, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan and Vietnam. 

Besides Israel, those who voted against the measure are the United States, Argentina, Tonga and Hungary, among others.

Several countries who abstained from the vote, including the Canada, South Korea and India, among others, "expressed concerns about the language in the text itself," according to a UN press release.

In November, the