The United Nations General Assembly's 10th Emergency Special Session has adopted a key resolution endorsing the International Court of Justice's (ICJ) advisory opinion which declared Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories illegal under international law.
Welcoming the advisory opinion of the ICJ as a historic one, Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the UN Ambassador Muhammad Abdul Muhith delivered Bangladesh's national statement at the session, he said, "The two-state solution, based on the pre-1967 border of the Palestinian state, is the only pathway for achieving sustainable peace in the Middle East," he called upon all member states to abide by this.
The Bangladesh co-sponsored resolution was tabled by Palestine, however, other 53 countries were also with the move. The adoption came through a vote on Wednesday, with 124 countries in favour, 14 against and 43 abstentions.
Through adopting the resolution, the General Assembly has also decided to hold an international conference within one year on Palestine, with the objective to find out ways and means to establish an independent Palestinian state.
In general, the resolution is being considered as an important step towards achieving solution of the Middle East crisis through implementing the two-state solution, as per UN charter.
UN Ambassador Muhammad Abdul Muhith also expressed Bangladesh's grave concern about the ongoing atrocities and high death toll in Gaza, and called for an immediate ceasefire referring to the UN Security Council resolution 2728.
He also appreciated the roles of the ICJ and the International Criminal Court in the process of ensuring accountability of illegal occupation and mass atrocity crimes in Occupied Palestinian Territories.
He appreciated the UN Secretary-General and UN Human Rights High Commissioner's statements concerning the grave humanitarian and human rights situation in Gaza.
The resolution, in light of the recent ICJ verdict, calls upon Israel to end its unlawful presence in the Palestine, the first step to end its military campaign in Gaza.
The resolution also calls for, among others, the establishment of an international mechanism for reparation for all damage, loss or injury arising from the internationally wrongful acts of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
It also requests the UN secretary-general to present a report on the implementation of the resolution.
The resolution also calls for ensuring accountability for the atrocity crimes committed by Israel, especially in light of the Fourth Geneva Convention on the protection of civilians.
Meanwhile, the UN member states voted Wednesday to formally demand an end to the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories within 12 months and the imposition of sanctions for non-compliance.
Arab countries called the special session just days before dozens of world leaders meet at UN headquarters to address the kick-off of this year's General Assembly.
The non-binding resolution, which Israel claimed would fuel violence, calling it "distorted" and "cynical," is based on an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) saying the occupation since 1967 was "unlawful."
There were 124 votes in favour, 14 against and a notable 43 abstentions, with the Palestinian delegation heralding the adoption as "historic."
The move also comes weeks ahead of the one-year anniversary of Hamas's unprecedented attack on Israel, which unleashed the devastating and ongoing retaliatory war in Gaza.
The resolution -- the first introduced by the Palestinian delegation itself under new rights gained this year -- demands Israel "brings to an end without delay its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory."
It calls for a withdrawal "no later than 12 months" from the resolution's adoption. A previous draft gave six months.
"The idea is you want to use the pressure of the international community in the General Assembly and the pressure of the historic ruling by the ICJ to force Israel to change its behaviour," said Palestinian ambassador Riyad Mansour.
Israel firmly rejected the resolution.
"This is what cynical international politics looks like," foreign ministry spokesman Oren Marmorstein said on X.
He said it was "a distorted decision that is disconnected from reality, encourages terrorism and harms the chances for peace."
