Israel condemns allowing UN court to look into occupation of Palestine

By Said Amouri

JERUSALEM (AA) – Outgoing Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid on Saturday condemned a vote at the UN General Assembly to allow the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to look into the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories.

"This is once again a one-sided Palestinian move that undermines the basic principles for resolving the conflict and potentially harming any possibility for a future process," Lapid said in a statement.

"They [the Palestinians] are once again using the UN to attack Israel." Lapid added, thanking "the countries that did not support the decision."

On Friday, the Forth Committee of the UN General Assembly adopted a draft resolution to request a legal advisory opinion from the ICJ on the nature of the existence of the Israeli occupation in the Palestinian territories, including Jerusalem.

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki hailed the countries that voted in favor of the resolution, adding that 98 countries voted in support against 17 votes.

Writing by Ahmed Asmar