(Bloomberg) -- The United Nations General Assembly demanded Wednesday that Israel withdraw from the Palestinian territories captured in 1967, end the settlement of the West Bank and allow displaced Palestinians and their descendants to return.
The nonbinding resolution put forward by the Palestinian Authority reaffirms a recent advisory opinion by the UN’s International Court of Justice, which said in July that Israel should end its “unlawful” presence in the Palestinian territories of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza.
The resolution says that Israel must return within a year the land and other assets seized from Palestinians since its occupation began in 1967.
The resolution drew 124 votes in favor, including from France, Japan and China. The US, Israel and 12 other countries voted against the motion, while 43 abstained.
“I call on you to reject double standards, to treat my people with the respect they deserve, and to recognize the rights they are entitled to,” Palestinian Ambassador Riyad Mansour told the General Assembly before the vote.
The war in Gaza has put the Israeli-Palestinian conflict center stage at the UN, further straining the organization’s relationship with Israel, which has long complained that it’s treated unfairly by the world body. In May, the General Assembly voted to make Palestinians full-fledged members, defying calls by the US to reject the motion.
“How dare you continue this tradition of passing one-sided resolutions against Israel, without even pausing to consider what the Israeli people have endured?” Israeli Ambassador Danny Danon said before the vote.
The war in Gaza began when Hamas attacked Israel Oct. 7, killing some 1,200 people and abducting about 200 more. Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed about 41,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants.
Israel captured the Gaza Strip from Egyptian control and the West Bank from Jordanian control in the Six-Day War in June 1967. East Jerusalem was also seized from Jordan at the time and has since been considered occupied territory by Palestinians and much of the international community.
Israel considers the West Bank a security bulwark and disputes international consensus that the settlements are illegal.
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