According to Ukrainian and Israeli officials speaking to Axios late Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to vote against a UN General Assembly resolution that requests the International Court of Justice to provide a legal opinion on the effects of Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories.
The larger picture: Ukraine supported the resolution in a UN committee vote, but opted out of the General Assembly vote on Friday “to give the relationship with Netanyahu a chance,” the official from Ukraine said.
Quick recap: The UN General Assembly passed the resolution late Friday with votes from 87 nations in favor, 24 nations opposed, and 53 nations abstained.
The ICJ will, in accordance with the decision, draft an advisory opinion on Israel’s occupation of the West Bank; this process could take one to two years.
The resolution states that the opinion should cover the legal ramifications of Israel’s “occupation, settlement, and annexation,” including steps taken to change the demographic makeup, character, and status of the Holy City of Jerusalem.
The opinion ought to cover “how Israel’s actions and practices affect the legal status of the occupation and what are the legal ramifications that arise for all States and the United Nations from this status,” as well as other related issues.
In a recent UN committee vote, Ukraine disregarded Israeli efforts to vote against the resolution because of Israel’s failure to supply
