India has voted in favour of a United Nations resolution condemning Israeli settlements in Palestine, reported PTI on Monday.
The draft resolution, titled “Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and the occupied Syrian Golan”, was passed on November 9 by the Special Political and Decolonisation Committee (Fourth Committee) of the United Nations General Assembly.
Jamaat-e-Islami Hind has welcomed India voting in favor of UN resolution against Israeli settlements in Palestine. In a statement to the media the President of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, Syed Sadatullah Husaini said, “We welcome the decision by the Government of India to vote in favor of UN resolution against Israeli settlements in Palestine. This is a step in the right direction. By voting with 145 countries to condemn Israeli settlement activities in ‘Occupied Palestinian Territory’, including East Jerusalem, and the occupied Syrian Golan – India has sent the right message that it is against the illegal grabbing of Palestinian land and the forcible annexation and eviction of civilians. India has always been an advocate of the Palestinian cause and has supported the Palestinians in their legitimate struggle against the illegal occupation of their land by the Israelis.”
The struggle of Palestinians to secure freedom and end the occupation and apartheid is in line with the foundational ethos of India and we are duty-bound to support them in letter and spirit. We appeal to the government of India to play an active and leading role in bringing peace to the region and ending the hostilities and illegal occupation.
While 145 nations voted in favour of the resolution, seven voted against it and 18 abstained.
India was joined by Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, France, Japan, Malaysia, Maldives, Russia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and the UK, among others, for condemning settlement activities in Palestine.
The UN resolution also condemns “the disruption of the livelihood of protected persons, the forced transfer of civilians and the annexation of land, whether de facto or through national legislation.”
It further reaffirmed that the Israeli settlements in Palestine were “illegal and an obstacle to peace and economic and social development”.
The United States, along with Canada, Hungary, Israel, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia and Nauru voted against the resolution.
This comes as Israel’s war on Gaza entered its seventh week on Monday. At least 11,078 Palestinians, including 4,506 children, had been killed in the Israeli offensive in Gaza till Saturday. The Gaza health ministry has been unable to update the toll since then, reported the Associated Press.
India’s Deputy Permanent Representative Ambassador Yojna Patel said that India was “deeply concerned at the deteriorating security situation” and the loss of civilian lives in the conflict. “The escalation of hostilities in the region will only exacerbate the humanitarian crisis,” Patel said. “It is necessary for all parties to display the utmost responsibility.”
She added: “Casualties in Gaza are a continuing concern and the crisis needs to be addressed.”
