On 30^th November 2022, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly adopted four resolutions on the question of Palestine, including Resolution A/77/L.23 to renew the mandate of the UN Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian people. Remarkably, the text requested that the Division for Palestinian Rights of the UN Secretariat commemorates the 75^th anniversary of the Nakba (the catastrophe) which marks the forceful mass expulsion of around 750 thousand Palestinians from their lands and properties at the hand of Zionist forces and militias between 1947-48. The resolution, which passed 101 to 17 with 53 abstentions, requested the Committee to mobilize international support and solidarity with the Palestinian people and called for government and organizations to collab with the Committee.

While 90 countries voted in favor of Resolution A/77/L.24 to renew the mandate of the Division for Palestinian Rights of the UN Secretariat, 30 countries voted against, and 47 others abstained. Importantly, Resolution A/77/L.24 on the Division to dedicate its activities for the year 2023 to commemorate the 75^th anniversary of the Nakba, including a high-level event on 15^th May 2023 in the UN General Assembly Hall.

Meanwhile, the General Assembly adopted draft Resolution A/77/L.25 to renew the mandate of the Special information program on the question of Palestine of the Department of Global Communications of the UN Secretariat.  149 countries voted in favor of the resolution, 11 countries voted against it, and 13 countries abstained. In addition, an overwhelming majority of 153 countries voted in favor of Resolution A/77/L.26. The text calls for the achievement of just and lasting peace in the Middle East based on relevant UN resolutions and an end to the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory that began in 1967, including East Jerusalem.

As Al Mezan welcomes the four resolutions, it emphasizes that the adoption of a resolution to commemorate the Nakba is a milestone that reflects the increasing international recognition of the underlying root causes behind Israel’s apartheid practices against the Palestinian people as a whole, namely Zionist settler-colonialism. These resolutions are an expression of the commitment and support of the international community for the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, and they mark a significant recognition of the historical plight befall on Palestinians.

Al Mezan urges the international community, including States that voted in favor of the four resolutions, to respect the UN’s resolutions, and seek to apply them on the ground. It also calls for the international community to halt gross and systematic violations against the Palestinian people while working to dismantle Israel’s apartheid regime in historic Palestine.