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
A/RES/73/255
Recalling, in this regard, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 2
and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, 2 and affirming
that these human rights instruments must be respected in the Occupied Palestinian
Territory, including East Jerusalem, as well as in the occupied Syrian Golan,
Recalling also the advisory opinion rendered on 9 July 2004 by the International
Court of Justice on the legal consequences of the construction of a wall in the
Occupied Palestinian Territory, 3 and recalling further its resolutions ES-10/15 of
20 July 2004 and ES-10/17 of 15 December 2006,
Recalling further its resolution 67/19 of 29 November 2012,
Taking note of the accession by Palestine to several human rights treaties and
the core humanitarian law treaties, as well as to other international treaties,
Expressing its concern about the exploitation by Israel, the occupying Power, of
the natural resources of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem,
and other Arab territories occupied by Israel since 1967,
Expressing its grave concern about the extensive destruction by Israel, the
occupying Power, of agricultural land and orchards in the Occupied Palestinian
Territory, including the uprooting of a vast number of fruit -bearing trees and the
destruction of farms and greenhouses, and the grave environmental and economic
impact in this regard,
Expressing its grave concern also about the widespread destruction caused by
Israel, the occupying Power, to vital infrastructure, including water pipelines, sewage
networks and electricity networks, in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, in particular
in the Gaza Strip during the military operations of July and August 2014, which, inter
alia, has polluted the environment and which negatively affects the functioning of
water and sanitation systems and the water supply and other natural resources of the
Palestinian people, and stressing the urgency of the reconstruction and development
of water and other vital civilian infrastructure, including the project for the
desalination facility for the Gaza Strip,
Expressing its grave concern further about the negative impact on the
environment and on reconstruction and development efforts of unexploded ordnance
that remains in the Gaza Strip as a result of the conflict in July and August 2014, and
commending the efforts of the Mine Action Service of the United Nations for the safe
removal of such ordnance,
Expressing its grave concern about the chronic energy shortage in the Gaza Strip
and its detrimental impact on the operation of water and sanitation facilities, which
threaten to further erode groundwater resources, of which only 5 per cent remains
potable,
Recalling the 2009 report by the United Nations Environment Programme
regarding the grave environmental situation in the Gaza Strip, and relevant reports by
the United Nations country team, including “Gaza in 2020: a liveable place?”, “Gaza:
two years after” and “Gaza ten years later”, and stressing the need for follow-up to
the recommendations contained therein,
Deploring the detrimental impact of the Israeli settlements on Palestinian and
other Arab natural resources, especially as a result of the confiscation of land and the
forced diversion of water resources, including the destruction of orchards and crops
and the seizure of water wells by Israeli settlers, and of the dire socioeconomic
consequences in this regard,
__________________
2
3
2/5
See resolution 2200 A (XXI), annex.
See A/ES-10/273 and A/ES-10/273/Corr.1.
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