The General Assembly,
Reaffirming its resolution ES-10/13 of 21 October 2003,
Guided by the principles of the Charter of the
United Nations,
Aware of the established principle of international
law on the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by force,
Aware also that developing friendly relations
among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and
self-determination of peoples is among the purposes and principles of
the Charter of the United Nations,
Recalling relevant General Assembly resolutions,
including resolution 181 (II) of 1947, which partitioned mandated Palestine
into two States, one Arab and one Jewish,
Recalling also the resolutions of the tenth
emergency special session,
Further recalling relevant Security Council
resolutions, including resolutions 242 (1967) of 22 November 1967, 338
(1973) of 22 October 1973, 267 (1969) of 3 July 1969, 298 (1971) of
25 September 1971, 446 (1979) of 22 March 1979, 452 (1979) of 20 July
1979, 465 (1980) of 1 March 1980, 476 (1980) of 30 June 1980, 478 (1980)
of 20 August 1980, 904 (1994) of 18 March 1994, 1073 (1996) of 28 September
1996, 1397 (2002) of 12 March 2002 and 1515 (2003) of 19 November 2003,
Reaffirming the applicability of the Fourth
Geneva Convention as well as Protocol I Additional to the Geneva Conventions
to the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem,
Recalling the Regulations annexed to the Hague
Convention respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land of 1907,
Welcoming the convening of the Conference of
High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention on measures
to enforce the Convention in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including
Jerusalem, at Geneva on 15 July 1999,
Expressing its support for the declaration adopted
by the reconvened Conference of High Contracting Parties at Geneva on
5 December 2001,
Recalling in particular relevant United Nations
resolutions affirming that Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian
Territory, including East Jerusalem, are illegal and an obstacle to
peace and to economic and social development as well as those demanding
the complete cessation of settlement activities,
Recalling also relevant United Nations resolutions
affirming that actions taken by Israel, the occupying Power, to change
the status and demographic composition of Occupied East Jerusalem have
no legal validity and are null and void,
Noting the agreements reached between the Government
of Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization in the context of
the Middle East peace process,
Gravely concerned at the commencement and continuation
of construction by Israel, the occupying Power, of a wall in the Occupied
Palestinian Territory, including in and around East Jerusalem, which
is in departure from the Armistice Line of 1949 (Green Line) and which
has involved the confiscation and destruction of Palestinian land and
resources, the disruption of the lives of thousands of protected civilians
and the de facto annexation of large areas of territory, and underlining
the unanimous opposition by the international community to the construction
of that wall,
Gravely concerned also at the even more devastating
impact of the projected parts of the wall on the Palestinian civilian
population and on the prospects for solving the Palestinian-Israeli
conflict and establishing peace in the region,
Welcoming the report of 8 September 2003 of
the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on the situation
of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied by Israel since
1967,1/ in particular the section regarding the wall,
Affirming the necessity of ending the conflict
on the basis of the two-State solution of Israel and Palestine living
side by side in peace and security based on the Armistice Line of 1949,
in accordance with relevant Security Council and General Assembly resolutions,
Having received with appreciation the report
of the Secretary-General submitted in accordance with resolution ES-10/13
of 21 October 2003, 2/
Bearing in mind that the passage of time further
compounds the difficulties on the ground, as Israel, the occupying Power,
continues to refuse to comply with international law vis-à-vis its construction
of the above-mentioned wall, with all its detrimental implications and
consequences,
Decides, in accordance with article 96 of the
Charter of the United Nations, to request the International Court of
Justice, pursuant to article 65 of the Statute of the Court, to urgently
render an advisory opinion on the following question: