40 countries call on Israel to lift punitive sanctions on Palestinians

Agencies | New York                          

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com   

Some 40 countries have called on Israel to lift sanctions it imposed on the Palestinian Authority earlier this month over its push to get the UN’s top court to issue an advisory opinion on the Israeli occupation.

On December 30, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution requesting an opinion from the International Court of Justice on the issue of the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories.

In retaliation, Israel announced a series of sanctions, including financial ones, on January 6 against the Palestinian Authority to make it “pay the price” for pushing for the resolution. In a statement to journalists Monday, some 40 United Nations member states, reaffirming their “unwavering support” for the ICJ and international law, expressed “deep concern regarding the Israeli government’s decision to impose punitive measures against the Palestinian people, leadership and civil society following the request by the General Assembly” to the court.

“Regardless of each country’s position on the resolution, we reject punitive measures in response to a request for an advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice, and more broadly in response to a General Assembly resolution, and call for their immediate reversal,” the members said.