UN resolutions back Palestinian sovereignty, compensation for Lebanon, Syria

The UN Economic and Financial Committee has approved resolutions calling on Israel to compensate Lebanon and Syria for an oil slick, and to hand sovereignty to the Palestinians over their natural resources.

The US, Argentina, Canada, Israel, Micronesia, Nauru and Palau voted against both resolutions.

The slick occurred after the Israeli Air Force struck storage tanks near the Jiyah electric power plant in 2006, covering two-thirds of Lebanon’s coastline with oil.

The draft resolution was introduced by Uganda’s representative, who highlighted the disastrous impact the slick has had on biodiversity and the local economy.

It reiterated the UN General Assembly’s “deep concern” over the negative impact the incident has had on Lebanon’s long-term sustainable development, and reaffirmed a UN report that damage to the country caused by the slick amounted to $856.4 million in 2014.

The resolution was passed by 161 votes in favor to seven against, with nine abstentions. It called for “prompt and adequate compensation” from Israel to Lebanon and Syria, which was also affected by the slick.

Lebanon’s representative thanked his country’s supporters at the UN, the World Bank and elsewhere.

He said the slick had hindered Lebanon’s ability to implement the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, and Israel’s use of chemical and toxic substances in its ongoing military campaign could cause long-term agricultural, economic and biodiversity damage.

He called for an investigation into Israeli war crimes in Lebanon and for further compensation.

The Ugandan representative also introduced a draft resolution calling on Israel to “cease the exploitation, damage, cause of loss or depletion and endangerment of the natural resources in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan.”

The draft also recognizes the right of the Palestinian people to seek compensation for any illegal activity by Israel or Israeli settlers that exploits or damages their natural resources.

It cited an International Court of Justice advisory opinion from July 19, and reaffirmed “the principle of the permanent sovereignty of the peoples under foreign occupation over their natural resources and the applicability of the Geneva Convention on the protection of civilians in time of war.”

The committee passed the resolution with 159 states in favor. Seven countries opposed the motion, with 11 abstentions.

The Palestinian representative said Israel must be held accountable for crimes committed against her people and on their territory, saying it has “for over a year” violated the UN Charter with its “incomprehensible” acts in Gaza.

She added that Israel has been allowed to act as a state “above the law with brazen impunity, classifying all Palestinians as terrorists to justify its acts.” 

The Syrian delegate said genocide, destruction and displacement committed by Israel “have also threatened to set fire to the entire region and beyond.” He blamed the US for preventing the UN Security Council from taking firm action.

The Algerian delegate said people living under occupation should have sovereignty over their natural resources, and damage caused by Israeli aggression will take years of reconstruction to undo.

Israeli authorities have caused a forced displacement of Palestinian people in Gaza to an extent that constitutes war crimes and crimes against humanity, Human Rights Watch said in a report on Thursday.
The report is the latest in a series from aid groups and international bodies warning about the dire humanitarian situation in the besieged enclave.
“Human Rights Watch found that forced displacement has been widespread, and the evidence shows it has been systematic and part of a state policy. Such acts also constitute crimes against humanity,” the report said.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military or foreign ministry but Israeli authorities have previously rejected such accusations, and say their forces operate in compliance with international law.
The law of armed conflict forbids the forcible displacement of civilian populations from occupied territory, unless necessary for the security of civilians or imperative military reasons.
Since then, the Israeli campaign has killed more than 43,500 people, according to Gaza health authorities, and destroyed much of the enclave’s infrastructure, forcing most of the 2.3 million population to move several times.
For the past month, Israeli troops have moved tens of thousands of people from areas in the north of the enclave as they have sought to destroy Hamas forces the military says have been reforming around the towns of Jabalia, Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun.
Human Rights Watch said the displacement of Palestinians “is likely planned to be permanent in the buffer zones and security corridors,” an action it said would amount to “ethnic cleansing.”
The Israeli military has denied seeking to create permanent buffer zones and Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said on Monday that Palestinians displaced from their homes in northern Gaza would be allowed to return at the end of the war.