UN Human Rights Council Condemns Israel’s Illegal Settlements, Occupation Of Golan Heights

One resolution adopted by the council reaffirmed “the inalienable, permanent and unqualified right of the Palestinian people to self-determination.”

By MintPress News Desk 

GENEVA — The U.N. Human Rights Council has adopted four 
resolutions which

 affirm the rights of the Palestinian people and condemn Israel’s illegal occupation of 

their land.

The resolutions, passed on March 24 at the HRC’s 31st meeting, represent 

the latest attempt by the council to reign in Israel’s continued expansion

 of illegal settlements.

In a resolution on “Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, 

including East Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan,” the council urges

 Israel to reverse its expansion into these regions, noting:“Israeli settlement 

activities involve … the transfer of nationals of the occupying Power 

into the occupied territories, the confiscation of land, the forcible

 displacement

 of  Palestinian civilians, including Bedouin families, the exploitation of 

natural resources, the conduct of economic activity for the benefit of the

 occupying Power, the disruption of the livelihood of protected persons,

 the de facto annexation of land and other actions against the Palestinian 

civilian population and the civilian population in the occupied 

Syrian Golan that are contrary to international law.”

It calls for notable action, including the creation of a database of businesses 

that operate in these illegally occupied territories. This could be a potential

 boon for the global Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement.

While the Golan Heights region of Syria has been occupied by Israel since

 the Six Day War in 1967, thedevelopment of settlements and the exploitation

 of the region’s valuable oil and gas deposits has ramped up under cover of 

the chaos caused by the ongoing civil war.

A second resolution shares the council’s concerns about the “[h]uman 

rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem.”

 Among the many issues raised in this resolution, the council calls for “urgent

 attention to the plight and the rights, in accordance with international law,

 of Palestinian prisoners and detainees in Israeli jails,” according to a press 

release published on its website.

Israel has a long history of mistreating Palestinian and other minority prisoners

 in its detention centers. Imprisoned Palestinian journalist Mohammed Al-Qeeq

 gained worldwide support and sparked protests by spending over 70 days on

 hunger strike inside an Israeli prison earlier this year.

Other human rights violations addressed in the resolution include “the 

excessive use of force and military operations causing death and injury

 to Palestinian civilians, including children and women, as well as to non-violent,

 peaceful demonstrators and to journalists, including through the use of live 

ammunition; the use of collective punishment; the closure of areas; the

 confiscation of land.”

Acknowledging Israel’s history of blatantly disregarding resolutions which decry

 its human rights violations and war crimes against the occupied indigenous

 population, in a third resolution, the human rights council demands a

 formal investigation into these violations by the U.N. High Commissioner,

 in cooperation with the International Criminal Court. Last year, Palestine

 formally joined the ICC, allowing the state to lodge legal complaints 

against Israel. According to the resolution, a report on Israel’s compliance

 will be offered at the council’s 35th meeting in June 2017.

Finally, the council adopted a resolution reaffirming the “[r]ight of
 the Palestinian people to self-determination.” According to a 
U.N. press release, this resolution reaffirms “inalienable, permanent
 and unqualified right of the Palestinian people to self-determination,”
 while simultaneously emphasizing the U.N.’s support for
 a two-state solution to the conflict.