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The votes in favor of two draft United Nations resolutions on Wednesday (Thursday AEDT) are the latest in a series of more pro-Palestinian votes Australia has taken at the global body, angering local pro-Israel groups but drawing praise from Palestinian advocates.
A draft resolution in the UN Second Committee recognized “the 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.”
The resolution was adopted with 159 votes in favor and seven against – including the USA, Canada and Israel, with 11 abstentions.
The vote breaks a 20-year streak in which Australia voted against or abstained on the issue, according to the Australia/Israel and Jewish Council.
A spokesman for Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong said the vote reflected international concern over Israel’s actions, including its “ongoing settlement activities, land grabbing, demolitions and settler violence against Palestinians”.
“It was clear to us that such acts undermine stability and the prospects for a two-state solution,” they said.
“This resolution is an important reminder of the UN Security Council resolutions that reaffirm the importance of a two-state solution that had bipartisan support.”
Before the vote, Israel’s representative on the committee denounced the resolution as “rooted in partisan political motives.”
“It is tragic that all the resources meant for the welfare of the Palestinians have been co-opted for the Hamas war machine,” he said.
The Palestinian representative on the committee said the vote was a strong reaffirmation of “the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, including the right to self-determination and freedom.”
“It also sends a strong message that all crimes committed by Israel in the besieged Gaza Strip, as well as the measures and policies it implements in the rest of occupied Palestine, including East Jerusalem, are illegal and must be stopped, and that the occupying power must be held accountable without delay “, she said after the vote.
US political adviser to the UN Nicholas Koval said his country was disappointed that the committee criticized the resolution as “unbalanced” and “unfairly critical of Israel, showing a clear and persistent institutional bias”.
“One-sided resolutions will not help the progress of peace. Not when they ignore the facts on the ground,” he said.
“One-sided resolutions are purely rhetorical documents that seek to divide us at a time when we should come together. And we must not stick to long-standing lines of division.”
Locally, the Australian Palestine Advocacy Network welcomed what it called Australia’s “long overdue recognition of the inalienable rights of Palestinians”.
“Australia’s support marks recognition of the catastrophic impact of Israel’s relentless appropriation and destruction of Palestinian resources and sends a clear signal that the world demands accountability for these injustices,” APAN President Nasser Mashni said in a statement.
“This vote should be a turning point for the Australian Government – it must recognize and act on its legal obligation to use all the economic, political and diplomatic tools at its disposal to help end Israel’s genocide, illegal occupation and apartheid in Palestine.”
But the Council on Australian/Israeli and Jewish Affairs said it was deeply concerned by the vote which had “no meaning either in terms of the objectives of the resolutions or in Australia’s historical voting record”.
“Every Australian government has voted against the oil spill resolution since it was introduced in 2006, including, until now, the Albanian government,” said CEO Dr. Colin Rubenstein.
“This is because the resolution does nothing to build momentum towards peace, is completely decontextualized and ignores the significant environmental destruction caused by Hezbollah in Israel during the 2006 war.”
Australia also voted in favor of a resolution calling on Israel to take responsibility for the oil spill caused by the destruction of oil tanks near a Lebanese power plant by the Israeli air force, which Australia voted against in 2023.
The vote on both resolutions will now go to the UN General Assembly.
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