NEW YORK (Dispatches) -- More than 90 countries have expressed their “deep concern” in a statement on Monday at the occupying regime of Israel’s punitive measures against the Palestinian people, following a UN request for an advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
The UN General Assembly voted 87-26 with 53 abstentions on 30 December in favor of the resolution calling for the ICJ to give an opinion on the legality of Israeli policies in the occupied West Bank and East Al-Quds.
In a statement, the signatories called for a reversal of the draconian measures, saying regardless of their position on the General Assembly’s resolution, “we reject punitive measures in response to a request for an advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice”.
In response to the successful Palestinian initiative at the UN, the Zionist regime’s new far-right regime seized $39 million of tax revenues collected on behalf of the Palestinian Authority.
Also Monday, a spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he “notes with deep concern the recent Israeli measures against the Palestinian Authority” and that there should “be no retaliation with respect to the Palestinian Authority in relation to the International Court of Justice.”
The statement released by the Palestinian Authority on its Twitter account was signed by representatives of Arab nations and the 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation, as well as 37 other countries, including Germany, France, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Brazil, Mexico and South Africa.
Germany’s UN mission said it “agrees on the rejection of punitive measures in response to the resolution.”
“Seeking an advisory opinion of the ICJ cannot and should not be a cause of punitive measures. For anybody. Anytime,” Denmark’s UN mission said.
Earlier this month, the occupying regime of Israel also banned the Palestinian foreign minister, Riyad Maliki, from leaving the occupied West Bank to stop him from meeting foreign dignitaries.
The opinions of the Hague-based ICJ, which settles disputes between countries, are binding, but the court has no power to enforce them. Its rulings, however, have a significant influence on international opinion.
Hardline prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told his cabinet that the measures against the Palestinians are aimed at what he called “an extreme anti-Israel” step at the UN.
In the occupied West Bank, Israeli raids on Tuesday in several Palestinian cities, including Al-Khalil, Nablus, Ramallah, and Jenin, resulted in dozens of homes being raided and arrests taking place, according