The United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday voted overwhelmingly to adopt a resolution that demands that Israel “brings to an end without delay its unlawful presence” in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
With a recorded vote of 124 nations in favour, 14 against, and 43 abstentions, the resolution calls for Israel to comply with international law and withdraw its military forces, immediately cease all new settlement activity, evacuate all settlers from occupied land, and dismantle parts of the separation wall it constructed inside the occupied West Bank.
The General Assembly further demanded that Israel return land and other “immovable property”, as well as all assets seized since the occupation began in 1967, and all cultural property and assets taken from Palestinians and Palestinian institutions.
The resolution also demands Israel allow all Palestinians displaced during the occupation to return to their place of origin and make reparation for the damage caused by its occupation.
The resolution stems from the advisory opinion issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in July, in which the Court declared that Israel’s continued presence in the Territory “is unlawful”, and that “all States are under an obligation not to recognize” the decades-long occupation.
Click here for the full text of the resolution and here for our live coverage of the meeting
The Assembly “strongly deplored the continued and total disregard and breaches” by the Government of Israel of its obligations under the UN Charter, international law and UN resolutions, stressing that such breaches “seriously threaten” regional and international peace and security.
It also recognized that Israel “must be held to account for any violations” of international law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including of international humanitarian and human rights laws.
The text says Israel “must bear the legal consequences of all its internationally wrongful acts, including by making reparation for the injury, including any damage, caused by such acts.”
The General Assembly highlighted the need for the establishment of an international mechanism for reparations to address damage, loss, or injury caused by Israel’s actions.
It also called for creating an international register of damage caused, to document evidence and related claims.
The resolution also includes a decision to convene an international conference during the Assembly’s current session to implement UN resolutions pertaining to the question of Palestine and the two-State solution for the achievement of a just, lasting and comprehensive peace in the Middle East.
Additionally, the Assembly requested the UN Secretary-General to present proposals for a mechanism to follow up on Israel’s violations of article 3 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, as identified by the ICJ.
Article 3 refers to racial segregation and apartheid and the undertaking by International Convention’s States Parties to prevent, prohibit and eradicate all practices of this nature in territories under their jurisdiction.
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General Assembly votes on a draft resolution on the ICJ advisory opinion.
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In its resolution, the General Assembly called upon all UN Member States to comply with their obligations under international law and take concrete steps to address Israel’s ongoing presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
The Assembly urged States to refrain from recognizing Israel’s presence in the Territory as lawful and to ensure that they do not provide aid or assistance in maintaining the situation created by the occupation. This includes taking measures to prevent their nationals, companies, and entities under their jurisdiction from engaging in activities that support or sustain Israel’s occupation.
Additionally, the Assembly called on States to cease importing products originating from Israeli settlements and to halt the transfer of arms, munitions, and related equipment to Israel in cases where there are reasonable grounds to suspect they may be used in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
Moreover, the resolution urged States to implement sanctions, such as travel bans and asset freezes, against individuals and entities involved in maintaining Israel’s unlawful presence in the Territory. This includes addressing issues related to settler violence and ensuring that those engaged in these activities face legal and financial consequences.
Finally, the Assembly temporarily adjourned its tenth emergency special session and authorized the President of the General Assembly to reconvene the session upon request from Member States.
The special session is a continuation of the tenth emergency special session of the General Assembly that last met in May amid the ongoing crisis in Gaza, during which it adopted a resolution, laying out additional rights for the State of Palestine’s participation in Assembly meetings.
That resolution did not grant Palestine the right to vote or put forward its candidature to UN Main Organs such as the Security Council or the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).
It also did not confer membership to the State of Palestine, which requires a specific recommendation from the Security Council.
[AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES (or quotes or watch videos) IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine]
https://skwawkbox.org/2024/09/17/south-african-lawyers-gearing-up-to-file-war-crime-complicity-case-against-uk-us/
A team of forty-seven South African lawyers is finalising its lawsuit against the UK and US for their complicity in Israel’s genocide and other war crimes against Palestinians. The group, which is led by Wikus van Rensburg, is the same team that filed South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), successfully obtaining the finding of ‘plausible genocide’ that effectively put Israel on trial before the court for the crime.
The lawyers plan to use civilian courts to prosecute those who aid and abet Israel in its crimes through civilian courts, in cooperation with UK and US lawyers.
Rensburg told Turkish media outlet Anadolu Ajansi that it was time for the UK and US to be held to account for their complicity:
The United States must now be held accountable for the crimes it committed. No one says stop, enough is enough.
What happened in Iraq is an example of this; no one held the US accountable for the crimes it committed in the Middle Eastern country as the issue was not given the necessary importance.
The US is busy spending more money and more resources to (allow Israel) commit the crime. If the ICJ trial against Israel is concluded in favour of South Africa, the US may face sanctions even if it does not accept the verdict. The ICJ ruling will also strengthen a case against the Joe Biden administration.
The US must now be held responsible for the crimes it has committed. It must accept its responsibilities. You could not avoid responsibility. The US must now be held accountable for the crimes it committed.
Israel has been lobbying its US allies to use sanctions and diplomatic pressure try to pressure South Africa and the UN’s courts to drop the case, as well as to coerce the International Criminal Court (ICC) not to issue arrest warrants for Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and his defence minister Yoav Gallant. Far from bowing to the pressure, South Africa has responded by taking its legal preparations for the complicity cases forward.
The US and UK have provided direct military assistance to and political cover for Israel during its genocide, in which it has already killed as many as 200,000 Palestinians, while the Starmer regime in the UK is targeting journalists and activists who draw attention to and oppose Israel’s war crimes.
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Painting of The Good Samaritan by John Adam Houston 1812-1884
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Dear America- letter sent to my elected leaders,
Killing people before even arresting them and giving them a fair hearing and trial is WRONG.
Upholding the rule of law, specifically the rule of fair and just laws is crucial for everyone's sake- world wide.
We are in this collectively- no exceptions.
Assassinations are a very bad idea, no matter who or what the
excuse. So please don't admire or excuse Israel for doing it, or HAMAS
or Hezbollah, as they all abuse religion and use violence in order to
gain as much money and power as they can grab.
The more the violence escalates, stoked by Israel armed to the teeth with American made weaponry, the more I realize that right now America and The West is VERY VERY RACIST... the powers that be are racist, with some hating Arabs, some hating Muslims, some hating Jews, and some just hating period.
Stop the hate- and the pollution of war.
We have the guidelines in place: Full respect for international law and basic human rights.
Please, we can build a better world, a fairer more sane and more just world, for ALL men, women, and children.
Life is precious and can be beautiful when gardens are allowed to grow, and goodness can be shared.
Sincerely,
Anne Selden Annab
NOTES https://anniesnewletters.blogspot.com/search/label/Notes
"Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world..." https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights
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[AS ALWAYS PLEASE GO TO THE LINK TO READ GOOD ARTICLES (or quotes or watch videos) IN FULL: HELP SHAPE ALGORITHMS (and conversations) THAT EMPOWER DECENCY, DIGNITY, JUSTICE & PEACE... and hopefully Palestine]
“We can stand shoulder to shoulder with the world’s greatest artists.”
So says Faisal Saleh, founder of the Palestine Museum US. Since 2018, he has directed the space. He also owns the building—an office complex in Woodbridge, Connecticut—and so is free from worry over upsetting the various bureaucracies who might hesitate to showcase Palestinian art.
A soft ban on Palestinian artists is, and has been, all too pervasive. (Saleh tells me: “The name ‘Palestine’ is radioactive right now.”) This year’s Venice Biennale, with its theme “Foreigners Everywhere,” panders to an idea of inclusivity. But when the Palestine Museum proposed the exhibition “Foreigners in their Homeland” as a collateral event, the proposal was rejected. Palestine also does not have a national pavilion, since Italy does not recognize it as a sovereign nation. Besides, according to Saleh, any art from Palestine is instantly tagged as Political with a capital-“P.” Thus, art and expressions are swept away to escape a boogeyman controversy. What gets left behind? Tough-minded work that deals with the struggle of love, anger, jealousy, fear, survival, loss, and, beyond this, a desire for what can come.
No matter: Saleh staged the exhibition anyway, renting Venice’s Palazzo Mora, where “Foreigners in their Homeland” is up until November 24, 2024. Most of the Venice artists have works on view in Connecticut, too, in the Palestine Museum’s permanent collection.
Loss—and the question of how to regain one’s bearings—is a common touchpoint in the works at the museum. Saleh wants to raise the profile of those Palestinian artists who know intimately the contours of loss, who long with passion for a space to give form to their dreams. When we face Khair Alah Salim’s painted solo cellist, who plays to her audience of three unpeeled oranges in an orange haze, we see how it is a clandestine joy—and a right too often taken as a privilege—to render a face, to paint fixed, concentrated eyes.
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| Raghda Zaiton: “Waiting,” 2020. Photo Carlos Valladares |
Ramallah, September 9, 2024—20 percent of the Palestinian children killed by Israeli forces and settlers in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, since 2000 have been killed after October 7, 2023 at a rate of one child every two days, Defense for Children International - Palestine said in a report released today.
The report, “Targeting Childhood: Palestinian children killed by Israeli forces and settlers in the occupied West Bank,” details and analyzes Palestinian child fatalities in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, between October 7, 2023, and July 31, 2024. Israeli forces routinely targeted Palestinian children with live ammunition and aerial attacks, prevented ambulances and paramedics from reaching wounded children, and confiscated children’s bodies in violation of international law.
“Israeli forces are killing Palestinian children with calculated brutality and cruelty all throughout the occupied Palestinian territory,” said Khaled Quzmar, general director at DCIP. “The international community must act urgently to enact an arms embargo and sanctions to protect Palestinian children’s lives.”
In this report, evidence and documentation collected by DCIP indicate that Israeli forces are deliberately targeting Palestinian children with the intent to unleash cruel and degrading treatment up until the moment of the child’s death.... READ MORE https://www.dci-palestine.org/targeting_childhood_palestinian_children_killed_by_israeli_forces_and_settlers_in_the_occupied_west_bankKey findings
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| VIDEO INTERVIEW 24 MINUTES LONG- CLICK HERE https://www.aljazeera.com/program/the-bottom-line/2024/9/8/are-restrictions-on-pro-palestine-speech-the-new-mccarthyism |
Is there an attempt to chill debate on Palestine and Israel on both sides of the Atlantic?
The United States, and the West in general, are in a “dire period” of repression of speech on Palestinian freedom or criticism of Israel, argues Dima Khalidi, founder of Palestine Legal.
Khalidi tells host Steve Clemons that despite strong constitutional protections for free expression, “there seems to be this exception when it comes to Palestine”, as witnessed by the wave of censorship, intimidation, firings and restrictions on activism in the wake of Israel’s war on Gaza.
The situation is similar across Europe, says British journalist Richard Medhurst, who’s been covering Gaza closely and was arrested for “speech crimes” upon arrival in London recently.
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| He argued that it was OK to combine the Star of David and swastika symbols because, he said, the star is used not only as a religious symbol, but a political symbol. It is found on the Israeli Air Force insignia. |
"The swastika, to me, is equivalent to the Star of David," Atta said.
Atta also disagreed with the concept that Jewish residents could feel threatened by the mural. He said he thought Jewish people "should be able to relate" to how painful a genocide is for a population."
2024: The mural is posted on a building at North Holton and East Locust streets owned by Ihsan Atta, a Palestinian-American landlord who is the registered agent for the property management company.
The mural replaced one on Breonna Taylor that was well-known to those in the area. Taylor, a Black woman, was shot and killed in her home in 2020 by Louisville police during a botched raid. The police killings of Taylor and George Floyd in Minneapolis sparked nationwide protests about police violence. Another prominent mural of Floyd on a building also owned by Atta remains at the corner of East North Avenue and North Holton Street. Milwaukee
METROPOLITAN CITY OF VENICE Film Festival
Sarah Friedland won Best Debut Film at the Venice Film Festival, accepting the Lion of the Future award in the Italian city at the weekend.
Familiar Touch won won three prizes at the festival’s 81st
edition—one for best debut feature, another for Chalfant as best actress
in the Orizzonti section (which the performer accepted in Italian), and
a third for Friedland as best director.