The United Nations General Assembly voted 124-14 on Wednesday to strip Israel of the right to self-defense in the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem.
The test of the resolution was based on the International Court of Justice’s advisory opinion in July that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory was illegal.
The resolution also calls on member states not to sell arms or military equipment to Israel that would be used in Gaza, the West Bank, and east Jerusalem.
Among the 43 countries that abstained were Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom. Some 12 of the 27 European Union countries abstained, including Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Sweden.
Part of any international sanctions is to leave something for the perpetrator to lose.
Otherwise, they can do literally everything without any further consequences whatsoever - it won’t get worse for them.
Also, as rightfully mentioned, part of UN’s goal is restoring peace between nations, which is harder to do when they are not members. That’s the problem with Palestine, and it will get worse if Israel leaves too.
