UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) will meet on Friday over the pager explosions across Lebanon targeting Hezbollah members, said Slovenia’s UN Ambassador Samuel Zbogar, president of the 15-member council for September.
The meeting was requested by Algeria on behalf of Arab countries, Ambassador Samuel Zbogar said.
Earlier on Wednesday, the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that the pager explosions targeting Hezbollah members indicate “a serious risk of a dramatic escalation in Lebanon and everything must be done to avoid that escalation.”
“Obviously the logic of making all these devices explode is to do it as a pre-emptive strike before a major military operation,” Guterres told reporters ahead of the annual meeting of world leaders at the UN General Assembly. He also said that it was very important not to weaponize civilian objects.
Guterres “urges all concerned actors to exercise maximum restraint to avert any further escalation,” his spokesman Stephane Dujarric later said in a statement.
Meanwhile today, the UN General Assembly adopted a non-binding resolution formally demanding an end to the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories within 12 months. The resolution is based on an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) calling Israel’s occupation since 1967 “unlawful.”
The resolution, which garnered 124 votes in favor, 14 against, and 43 abstentions, aims to hold Israel accountable for its actions in the region. Through the non-binding, UN member states formally demanded an end to the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories within 12 months and sanctions for non-compliance.
Arab countries called the special session of the General Assembly just days before dozens of heads of state and government meet at the UN headquarters to address the kick-off of this year’s General Assembly session.
The UN General Assembly resolution calls for Israel to “bring to an end without delay its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory”.
Palestinian Ambassador to the UN, Riyad Mansour, highlighted the intention behind the resolution: to leverage the international community’s pressure and the ICJ’s ruling to induce changes in Israeli behavior. “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 behavior,” the Palestinian Ambassador said on Monday.
He said, “The Palestinians want to live — not survive. They want to be safe in their homes,” expressing urgency in the face of ongoing violence.
“How many more Palestinians need to be killed before change finally takes place to stop this inhumanity?” The ICJ opinion was “a historic opinion as this was the first time the court examined the Israeli occupation as a whole,” Mansour said.
The resolution outlines several key demands: the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Palestinian territories, a halt to the establishment of new settlements, the return of confiscated land and property, and the potential return of displaced Palestinians.
READ ALSO: Beijing Sanctions 9 US Defence Companies in Response to Taiwan Sales
Additionally, it calls on member states to consider ceasing arms provisions to Israel if there are reasonable grounds to suspect these arms might be used in occupied territories.
The resolution faced strong opposition from the United States. US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield condemned the text as “inflammatory,” asserting it would not contribute to peace efforts and failed to address the influence of Hamas in Gaza. The United States voted against the resolution, consistent with its historical support for Israel in the context of the ongoing conflict.
The passage of this resolution comes amid heightened tensions in the region, particularly following the outbreak of conflict on October 7, which has resulted in significant casualties. According to Gaza’s health ministry, Israeli bombardments have killed at least 41,272 Palestinians, mostly women and children.
While the UN Security Council remains largely paralyzed on the Gaza issue, with the US repeatedly vetoing resolutions against Israel, the General Assembly has taken steps to voice support for Palestinian civilians amid the ongoing humanitarian crisis.
