The General Assembly adopted by overwhelming margins six draft resolutions calling in various terms for the reaffirmation of Palestinian Arab rights, including the establishment of a Palestinian state. The votes last Thursday night concluded the 11-day debate on the “Palestine Question.”
The resolutions were in line with recommendations to the General Assembly’s 153 member-states proposed by its committee on Palestinian rights. The committee’s recommendations emphasized that the Palestine question was at the core of the Middle East conflict and that its solution must encompass the establishment of an independent Palestinian state. The committee also declared that participation by the Palestine Liberation Organization was a “must” in any deliberations, under United Nations sponsorship, on the Mideast.
Only the United States and Israel voted against all six resolutions.
SUBSTANCE OF THE RESOLUTIONS
The first resolution — 121-2, 23 abstentions–called to the attention of the UN Security Council that action on the recommendations proposed by the committee on Palestinian rights was “long overdue” and authorized the committee to continue its work.
The second resolution– 119 in favor; U.S., Canada and Israel opposed; 22 abstentions — called for an expanded work program for a special unit on Palestinian rights.
The third resolution — 122 in favor; U.S., Israel, Canada and Norway opposed; 20 abstentions — called for the convening of an international conference on the Question of Palestine not later than 1984, with the committee on Palestinian rights serving as the preparatory body.
The fourth resolution — 111-13, 20 abstentions — reaffirmed the rights of the Palestinians to return to their homes and property and also to establish an independent sovereign state.
The fifth resolution — 139-2, four abstentions — declared that everything Israel had done to alter the status of Jerusalem was null and void.
The sixth resolution — 88-21, 36 abstentions–referring to Camp David expressed strong opposition to all “partial” agreements and separate treaties. It termed such accords flagrant violations of Palestinian rights.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
