AROUND 40 COUNTRIES URGE ISRAEL TO LIFT ‘PUNITIVE’ SANCTIONS AGAINST PALESTINIANS

Tue 17 January 2023:

In reaction to the Palestinian Authority’s attempts to have the UN’s top court issue an advisory opinion on the Israeli occupation, some 40 nations on Monday urged Israel to restore the sanctions it had placed on the Palestinian Authority earlier in the month.

The International Court of Justice was engaged on the subject of Israel’s occupation of Palestinian areas in a resolution that the UN General Assembly adopted on December 30.

On January 6, Israel retaliated by announcing a number of measures, including financial sanctions, against the Palestinian Authority in order to make it “pay the price” for pushing the resolution.

In a statement to journalists on Monday, about 40 members of the UN expressed “deep concern” over the Israeli government’s decision to impose punitive measures on the Palestinian people, leadership, and civil society in response to the General Assembly’s request to the court. They reaffirmed their “unwavering support” for the ICJ and international law.

“Regardless of each country’s position on the resolution, we reject punitive measures in response to a request for an advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice, and more broadly in response to a General Assembly resolution, and call for their immediate reversal,” the members said.

The statement is supported by nations that voted in favour of the resolution, including Algeria, Argentina, Belgium, Ireland, Pakistan, and South Africa, as well as nations that abstained from voting, including Japan, France, and South Korea, and nations that voted against it, including Germany and Estonia.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

FOLLOW INDEPENDENT PRESS:

TWITTER (CLICK HERE)
https://twitter.com/IpIndependent