NEW YORK, November 11, 2026 (WAFA) – The Second Committee, the United Nations General Assembly's Economic and Financial Committee, adopted today, Wednesday, the draft resolution titled "Permanent sovereignty of the Palestinian people in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and of the Arab population in the occupied Syrian Golan over their natural resources," submitted by the Group of 77 and China.

A total of 151 countries voted in favor of the resolution, including all member states of the European Union and Canada, while seven countries voted against it—namely the United States of America, Israel, Colombia, Paraguay, Palau, Nauru, and Micronesia—and 11 countries abstained.

The draft resolution affirmed a set of principles and foundations related to Palestinian natural resources, such as the applicability of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War (Fourth Geneva Convention) to the occupied Palestinian Territory.

It also refers to the Advisory Opinion issued by the International Court of Justice on July 19, 2024, regarding the Legal Consequences arising from the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and the illegality of Israel's continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

The resolution recalls the International Court of Justice's 2004 Advisory Opinion regarding the separation Wall in the occupied West Bank, and affirms a set of principles and foundations concerning Palestinian natural resources, such as the applicability of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War to the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

The draft resolution also affirmed the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people to their natural resources, and demanded that Israel cease exploiting these resources.

The resolution further affirmed the right of the Palestinian people to claim restitution as a result of Israel's exploitation of these resources, stressing several matters, including that Israel's construction of settlements, the Wall, and other actions are detrimental to the Palestinian environment.

It also reaffirmed the appeal made by the Security Council in its Resolution 2334, in which it called upon all States to distinguish between the territory of the State of Israel and the territories occupied since 1967.

For his part, the Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine to the United Nations, Minister Riyad Mansour, affirmed that this overwhelming vote in favor of the resolution once again underscores the international community's support for the inalienable rights of our Palestinian people, including their sovereign right over their natural resources, commending the role of the countries that voted in favor of this important resolution.

T.R.