Dr. Raed Abu Badawiya: Forming a highly efficient national team to follow up on the decision and work in international forums is important

Dr. Omar Rahhal: The decision is a slap in the face to Israel and America and reaffirms the human rights decisions issued regarding Palestine since 1967

Suleiman Basharat: Implementing the resolution remains complicated in the absence of international will to impose sanctions on Israel and refer it to the courts

Nihad Abu Ghosh: The decision requires increased pressure on Israel, but it also provides a solid legal framework for the occupation

Dr. Raed Nairat: Unity, Palestinian pressure tools and international will are needed to transform the UN resolution into a tangible reality

Finally, the United Nations General Assembly issued a resolution calling on Israel to withdraw from the occupied Palestinian territories within a legal framework based on the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice, setting a time limit of 12 months to implement this withdrawal. This resolution establishes a legal framework for dealing with the Israeli occupation.

In separate interviews with Al-Quds, writers, political analysts and legal experts confirm that although the resolution provides a clear legal framework for ending the occupation, its implementation requires significant and detailed practical efforts.

They point out that implementing the UN resolution depends on mobilizing international support and taking concrete steps to ensure Israel's commitment to it, noting that Israel will not abide by the resolution voluntarily.

Writers, analysts and specialists stress the need to start putting the Palestinian house in order by implementing the outcomes of the Beijing Agreement, in order to enhance effective work to follow up on the implementation of the UN resolution.

Two main axes included in the resolution

In his comment on the UN resolution issued at the request of the Palestinian Authority, which is based on the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice regarding the legitimacy of the Israeli occupation and the need to end it as soon as possible, Dr. Raed Abu Badawiyeh, Professor of International Law and International Relations at the Arab American University, explains that the resolution set a 12-month time limit, with the aim of restricting the time frame that serves the advisory opinion, which did not originally specify any specific time period, and after this period expires, there will be the possibility of taking punitive measures against Israel.

Abu Badawiya explains that the UN resolution included two main axes: the first, which is what is required of Israel, as the resolution clearly stated that the occupation must end and the situation must return to what it was before 1967, which represents a violation of international law by Israel.

The second axis, according to Abu Badawiya, is related to the international community, as the resolution requested member states not to recognize any changes made by Israel in the occupied territories, including the reality imposed by the Israeli occupation. The resolution also called on the international community to impose sanctions on all those who contribute to the continuation of the occupation, whether they are Israelis or other parties, pointing to the need to issue lists of the names of those involved.

Abu Badawiya points out that the resolution also stipulated the necessity of compensating the Palestinians for the damages they suffered, whether on the general or individual level, and it also indicated the mechanisms that must be followed to implement the provisions of the resolution, while the resolution called on international institutions to punish those who continue to support the occupation, and requested that member states apply these penalties within their local courts.

Although the resolution provides a general theoretical framework for ending the occupation, Abu Badawiya stresses that implementing its provisions requires a great deal of work, as there is a need for detailed resolutions that explain the implementation mechanisms more precisely.

The absence of a comprehensive national strategy to deal with the international reality

Abu Badawiya points out that political movements have become more evident on the international and Arab levels, especially with regard to the position of countries on Israel’s practices that aim to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state, and therefore many international positions have come to recognize the Palestinian state.

Abu Badawiya calls for the formation of a highly qualified Palestinian national team to follow up on the resolution and work in the United Nations and international forums. However, Abu Badawiya expresses his regret for the absence of a comprehensive national strategy to deal with the current international reality regarding the Palestinian issue.

Non-binding recommendation to countries

Dr. Omar Rahhal, writer, political analyst and director of the Shams Center for Human Rights, explains that the recent UN General Assembly resolution calling on Israel to withdraw its forces from the Palestinian territories occupied in 1967, including East Jerusalem, is a non-binding recommendation to states, unlike the binding Security Council resolutions based on Chapter VII of the UN Charter.

Rahhal stresses that the vote held by the General Assembly received the support of 124 countries, while 43 countries abstained from voting, and only 14 countries rejected it. This vote is a political and diplomatic slap in the face to both Israel and the United States, and reflects the state of isolation that Israel faces internationally as a result of its rejection of the measures related to Palestine. The resolution is also an expression of the international will that stands by the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, foremost of which is the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and the establishment of an independent state on its national soil.

Rahhal believes that the UN resolution reaffirmed the human rights resolutions issued regarding Palestine since 1967, which consider that the Israeli occupation is based on force, that the occupation is temporary according to international law, and that Israeli measures and policies are illegitimate and illegal.

Rahhal points out that theoretically, the resolution set a 12-month deadline for Israel to withdraw from the occupied Palestinian territories, which would allow the Palestinians the opportunity to establish their independent state, withdraw Israeli settlers and the occupation army, and dismantle Israeli military bases from the Palestinian territories.

Rahhal stresses the importance that the Palestinians should not ignore any political, diplomatic or legal path, recalling that it was the United Nations General Assembly that granted legitimacy to the establishment of Israel and affirmed the right to establish two states in 1947.

Regarding President Mahmoud Abbas’s directive to the national team tasked with following up on the implementation of the resolution, Rahhal believes that the team must communicate with the countries that supported the resolution to activate its implementation, and to talk to them about reconsidering relations with Israel, and calling on the countries that did not recognize the State of Palestine to recognize it.

Rahhal stresses the need to communicate with the countries that abstained from voting, most of which are allies of Palestine, in order to push them to stand by the Palestinian cause as they did in the past.

Israel will not allow the establishment of an independent Palestinian state

Regarding the Israeli position, Rahhal points out that Israel will not allow the establishment of an independent Palestinian state as long as the Arab and international position remains unstable, and will continue to practice its policies and violations to prevent the establishment of any independent Palestinian entity. In the best case scenario, the options available to the Palestinians will be limited self-rule within cantons.

Rahhal suggests resorting to the International Court of Justice to obtain an advisory opinion on the legitimacy of the “Balfour Declaration” that allowed the establishment of the occupying state on Palestinian lands, and then turning to the United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council to assume their responsibilities in implementing the partition resolution that stipulates the establishment of a Palestinian state.

An important step and a reinforcement of the Palestinian demand for liberation

Writer and political analyst Suleiman Basharat asserts that the UN resolution calling on Israel to withdraw from the occupied Palestinian territories represents an important step, despite the fact that the Israeli occupation often ignores international resolutions and is not forced to implement them.

Basharat points out that the decision is of particular importance for several main reasons related to timing and content, as the timing of the decision coincides with the escalation of the occupation and its practices in the Palestinian territories, especially in the Gaza Strip, which is witnessing a campaign of genocide. This decision reinforces the Palestinian demand for the necessity of liberation from the occupation and reveals the truth of its practices after years of manipulating the idea of the two-state solution.

Basharat points out that the decision comes at a time when international law and humanitarian law are facing major challenges, as the gap between the declared principles and what is happening on the ground is widening, highlighting the inability of the international community to force Israel to implement these decisions.

The growing state of public awareness at the global level

Basharat also drew attention to the growing public awareness at the global level regarding the suffering of the Palestinians under occupation, as the Palestinian cause has gained widespread popular solidarity in various countries.

Regarding President Mahmoud Abbas’s decision to assign the Palestinian national team to follow up on the implementation of the UN resolution, Basharat points out that this step is important to ensure that the resolution is transformed into a practical reality.

Basharat stressed that following up on the resolution requires mobilizing global diplomatic and political support to ensure its implementation, stressing the need to submit accurate reports documenting the Israeli occupation’s violations and its continued denial of international resolutions.

Basharat points out that these reports will constitute tangible evidence for the international community about Israel's non-compliance, which will require the international community to assume its responsibilities towards implementing these resolutions.

Israel imposes a new reality

On the other hand, Basharat confirms that the Israeli occupation continues to impose a new reality that prevents the establishment of a Palestinian political entity, through expanding settlements and confiscating Palestinian lands.

Basharat explains that successive Israeli governments have taken major steps in this direction, the latest of which was converting lands classified as “B” according to the Oslo Accords into lands under Israeli civil control.

Basharat stresses that implementing this international resolution remains complicated in the absence of a real international political will to impose sanctions on Israel and refer it to international courts.

Basharat calls for explicit recognition of the Palestinian state and implementation of previous international resolutions, but he stresses that in the absence of effective international will, UN resolutions will remain mere ink on paper, which will lead to the strengthening of settlements and the continued confiscation of Palestinian lands.

The importance of having a unified Palestinian political vision

Basharat stresses the importance of having a unified Palestinian political vision based on an internally agreed upon national program, and in line with Arab and international diplomatic efforts, calling for strengthening these efforts with multiple pressure tools on Israel, whether through exercising the right to legitimate resistance guaranteed by international law or by pushing countries that support Palestine to take tangible steps on the ground, such as opening diplomatic missions in Palestine.

Basharat points out the necessity of working to isolate Israel and expel it from international institutions if it continues to ignore UN resolutions.

Accurate embodiment of the advisory opinion issued by the International Court of Justice

Writer and political analyst specializing in Israeli affairs, Nihad Abu Ghosh, believes that the UN resolution calling on Israel to withdraw its forces from the occupied Palestinian territories represents an accurate embodiment of the advisory opinion issued by the International Court of Justice.

Abu Ghosh points out that the fatwa, which categorically confirmed the illegitimacy of the Israeli occupation and settlement, came to summarize a legal position opposing the continuation of the occupation.

Although Israel occupied the West Bank within three days, Abu Ghosh points out that the UN resolution gave it a 12-month deadline to withdraw from the territories it occupied in 1967, an attempt to make the resolution more realistic, as the advisory opinion called for ending the occupation within only six months.

He points out that implementing this resolution requires increasing pressure on Israel, but it also provides a solid legal framework for the occupation and the reality in the occupied territories.

Abu Ghosh stresses that all measures taken by Israel within the framework of occupation and settlement are null and void from an international legal perspective.

The decision gives legitimacy to the Palestinian struggle.

Although Israel will not voluntarily abide by the resolution, Abu Ghosh believes that the resolution gives legitimacy to the Palestinian national struggle, and opens the door for countries to deal with the Palestinian issue through a new political and diplomatic path.

However, Abu Ghosh stresses the need to intensify political, economic, and diplomatic pressures to emphasize the illegitimacy of any normalization with Israel.

Abu Ghosh believes that properly implementing the new UN resolution requires implementing the outcomes of the "Beijing Agreement" to end the Palestinian division and achieve national reconciliation, forming the temporary leadership framework for the Palestine Liberation Organization, forming a national consensus government, and taking practical steps to stop the ongoing war of extermination in the Gaza Strip.

Abu Ghosh stresses that implementing the UN resolution on the ground depends on the ongoing struggle, which will in turn create a new reality that will force Israel to withdraw, and this resistance will increase the cost of the occupation on Israel and make it pay the price for its occupation of the Palestinian territories.

Abu Ghosh points out that the Israeli government will continue to try to impose new facts on the ground to strengthen its control over the occupied territories, because this is an “existential conflict” for it.

An important development in the international response to international legitimacy decisions

Writer and political analyst Dr. Raed Nairat believes that the UN resolution calling on Israel to withdraw its forces from the occupied Palestinian territories represents an important development in the international response to international legitimacy resolutions, noting that this resolution highlights a qualitative shift in the transition from general resolutions to more specific ones that support the political rights of the Palestinians.

Nairat explains that the importance of the decision is increasing in light of the current situation, as the war of extermination continues in the Gaza Strip, in addition to the increasing escalation in the West Bank.

However, Nairat warns that this UN resolution will not become a tangible reality without an international and local political will capable of consecrating the resolution and transforming it into practical steps on the ground.

Nairat points out that forming a national team to follow up on the implementation of the decision is an important step, but Nairat stresses that forming this team alone is not enough to achieve the required progress.

Only unity can turn a decision into a practical reality.

Nairat stresses that what can transform these decisions into a practical reality is true Palestinian unity, saying: “If the Palestinians continue in a state of division and fragmentation, they will not be able to invest these international decisions effectively.”

Nairat stresses that talk about a real political investment in these decisions cannot be done without the existence of a national program and a unified strategy, in addition to unifying Palestinian institutions to achieve the desired goals.

Given Israel's intransigence and refusal to abide by international resolutions, Nairat stresses that Israel cannot voluntarily implement the UN resolution without effective Palestinian pressure tools.

Nairat stresses that the main challenge to end the occupation must start from within Palestine, considering that whoever wants to end the occupation must start from within the occupied land, despite the importance of international support and resolutions.