Wednesday 12/November/2025 – 11:28 PM
Today, Wednesday, the United Nations Committee on Economic and Financial Questions adopted a draft resolution on permanent sovereignty for the Palestinian people in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and for the Arab population in the occupied Syrian Golan over their natural resources, submitted by the Group of 77 and China, with a majority of 152 votes in favor of the resolution, including all member states of the European Union and Canada.
Eight countries opposed the resolution: the United States of America, Israel, Neru, Micronesia, Papua New Guinea, Palau, Paraguay and Argentina, while 12 countries abstained from voting.
The draft resolution confirms a set of principles and foundations related to Palestinian natural resources, such as the application of the Geneva Convention relating to the protection of civilians in times of war in the occupied Palestinian territory, and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
The draft resolution refers to the advisory opinion issued by the International Court of Justice on 19 July 2024 on the legal consequences arising from Israel’s policies and practices in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and the illegality of Israel’s continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and also recalls the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on the separation wall and apartheid expansion.
Israel’s exploitation of Palestinian natural resources
The draft resolution also expressed deep concern about Israel’s exploitation of Palestinian natural resources, the destruction it is causing to Palestinian land and agriculture, the widespread destruction of agricultural structures and infrastructure, especially those related to water and electricity supplies, especially in the Gaza Strip, as well as the harmful effects of illegal settlements on all forms of Palestinian life.
The draft resolution affirmed the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people to their natural resources, calling on Israel to stop exploiting these resources. It also affirmed the right of the Palestinian people to demand compensation for Israel’s exploitation of these resources, and stressed, among other things, that Israel’s construction of settlements, the wall, and other actions are harmful to the Palestinian environment.
The draft resolution emphasized the call made by the Security Council in its resolution 2334, in which it called on states to distinguish between the territory of the State of Israel and the territories occupied since 1967.
Minister Riyad Mansour, Permanent Representative of the State of Palestine to the United Nations, confirmed that this overwhelming vote in favor of the resolution once again confirms the international community’s support for the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, including their sovereign right over their natural resources, expressing his deep thanks to the countries that voted in favor of this important resolution.
