Palestinians hail UN vote on Israel's occupation as victory for diplomacy

Palestinians have welcomed a vote by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to ask the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for an opinion on the legal consequences of Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories.

"The time has come for Israel to be a state subject to law, and to be held accountable for its ongoing crimes against our people," said Nabil Abu Rudeineh on Saturday, spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Senior Palestinian official Hussein al-Sheikh said on Twitter that Friday's vote "reflects the victory of Palestinian diplomacy."

READ MORE: UN asks World Court to opine on Israel's occupation of Palestine's lands

UN approves Palestine request for ICJ opinion on Israeli occupation

The UNGA passed a resolution requesting an opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the legal implications of Israel's occupation of Palestine and its "practices and settlement activities affecting the rights of the Palestinian people." 

The resolution was passed by the General Assembly by a vote of 87 to 26 with 53 abstentions. Russia and China voted in favour of the resolution.

Among Western governments that endorsed the resolution was Portugal, whose envoy recognised the "danger of overjudicialising international relations" but said the world court "underpins the international rules-based order which we wish to preserve."

Unsurprisingly, Israel, the United States, and 24 of their allies voted against the resolution, most notably the United Kingdom and Germany, while France was one of the 53 nations that abstained.