The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on Monday condemned Israeli plans to apply sovereignty over Judea and Samaria and called on UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet to compile a report on the impact of such a move, to be delivered at the UNHRC's 46th session next March.
“We have to stand firm and say ‘no’ to what Israel and America are doing in this area. It is flagrantly denying rights and flying in the face of international law,” PLO Ambassador Ibrahim Khraishi told the UNHRC, according to JPost.
The UNHRC also passed the annual “settlements resolution” which calls for a boycott of businesses that operate in Judea and Samaria and to warn that those who engaged in such activity were liable to be penalized under international law.
The resolution was approved by a majority of 36-2 and was one of five pro-Palestinian Arab and anti-Israeli texts the 47-member UNHRC approved during its 43rd session.
JPost reported that Australia and the Marshall Islands were the only two countries to reject all five of the resolutions. Countries that abstained from the settlements resolution were: Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cameroon, the Czech Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Slovenia, Togo and Ukraine.
Of the 36 countries that approved the measures, five were European: Denmark, Germany, Italy, Poland and Spain.
A resolution affirming the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination also passed overwhelmingly at 43-2 with two abstentions. The two abstentions were Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
A resolution condemning Israeli sovereignty on the Golan Heights passed 26-17, with four abstentions.
The UNHRC has long been known for its anti-Israel bias. Earlier this year, it published a list of 112 companies which operate in Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria.
The council claims the companies, including Airbnb, Expedia, and TripAdvisor, violate international law by continuing to operate in the Jewish communities in the area.
Last year, a report submitted to the UNHRC claimed that Israel deliberately shot Palestinian Arab children and journalists at the Gaza border and violated international law.
Israel rejected the findings of the UN probe, calling it "hostile, deceitful and biased."
The US withdrew from the UNHRC in 2018, citing its anti-Israel bias.