WASHINGTON

Israel failed to meet a 12-month deadline Thursday that was established by the UN General Assembly to end its illegal occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

The assembly overwhelmingly endorsed the deadline in a resolution it passed Sept. 18, 2024, that demanded an end to Israel's "unlawful" occupation within 12 months. The resolution, which was spearheaded by Palestine, was adopted with sweeping consensus with 124 member states voting in favor, and just 14 against.

Noting that Israeli settlements also violate international law, the resolution asserts that the Palestinian people have the right to self-determination under the UN Charter.

It explicitly demanded "that Israel brings to an end without delay its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, which constitutes a wrongful act of a continuing character entailing its international responsibility, and do so no later than 12 months from the adoption of the present resolution."

Palestine's UN mission said that instead, "and in defiance of the UN Charter, the ICJ international law, the General Assembly resolution, and the international and global determination, Israel is further entrenching its unlawful occupation and presence in Palestine through genocide, apartheid, and ethnic cleansing."

Its post on the US social media platform, X, was referring to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), where Israel is facing a case of genocide for the conduct of its war on Gaza where more than 65,000 Palestinians have been killed, the majority of whom have been children and women.

The court also issued an advisory opinion July 19, 2024, in which it said Israel's occupation of Palestine is unlawful and should be brought to an end "as rapidly as possible." The General Assembly sought to give the finding weight with its resolution.

In the course of the past year, Israel has greatly escalated its war on Gaza, which is in the throes of famine and acute food shortages, and which has been largely reduced to rubble. In the occupied West Bank, Israel has also ramped up settlement expansion amid increased forced displacement of Palestinians.