UN General Assembly Calls for Israel’s Complete Withdrawal from Occupied Palestinian Territories

The United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday adopted a landmark resolution demanding that Israel withdraw its forces from the occupied Palestinian territories, reaffirming global support for a just and lasting solution to the Palestinian question.

The resolution, titled “Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine,” was passed with a significant majority — 151 countries in favor, 11 opposed, and 11 abstaining. It calls for the immediate resumption of credible negotiations on all core issues of the Middle East peace process and urges the convening of an international peace conference in Moscow.

The General Assembly demanded that Israel comply fully with international law, end its illegal occupation, halt settlement expansion, and remove all settlers from occupied Palestinian lands. The resolution also rejected any demographic or territorial changes in Gaza, emphasizing that Gaza and the West Bank must remain united under the Palestinian Authority.

It further states that Israel must withdraw from all Palestinian territories occupied since 1967 so that the Palestinian people may exercise their fundamental right to self-determination.

Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Osama Iftikhar Ahmad, emphasized during the debate that the world must convert its commitments into action. He reaffirmed Pakistan’s full support for the Palestinian struggle for freedom, sovereignty, peace, and justice.

He stressed the urgent need for a complete ceasefire in Gaza, the withdrawal of Israeli forces, uninterrupted humanitarian aid, and the immediate reconstruction of Gaza. The envoy added that any forced demographic changes, annexation, or displacement in the occupied territories is unacceptable.

He concluded by reiterating that only a political solution can guarantee lasting peace — specifically, the establishment of a sovereign, independent, and geographically contiguous Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem (Al-Quds al-Sharif) as its capital.