A United Nations General Assembly committee has approved a resolution affirming the Palestinian people’s permanent sovereignty over their natural resources, with 151 countries voting in favour. India, Russia and China were among those supporting the draft, while seven countries, including the United States and Israel, voted against it. Eleven countries abstained.
The draft resolution was adopted on November 11 by the UN General Assembly’s Second Committee, which deals with economic and financial matters. Titled “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 was submitted by the Group of 77 and China.
According to the United Nations, the resolution reaffirms the Palestinian people’s permanent sovereignty over their natural resources. It also calls on Israel to halt actions that harm the environment and natural resources in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, and the occupied Syrian Golan. These include environmental damage, the dumping of waste, and the destruction of essential infrastructure such as water pipelines, sewage networks and electricity systems.
The seven countries that voted against the resolution were the United States, Israel, Colombia, Paraguay, Palau, Nauru and the Federated States of Micronesia. Eleven countries abstained.
The vote took place in the General Assembly’s Second Committee. The draft is yet to be formally adopted by the full General Assembly.
