Staff Reporters/

Apia, 19 September 2024 – Samoa abstained from voting at the United Nations General Assembly earlier today on a Palestinian-drafted resolution that demanded “Israel brings to an end without delay its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory end…within 12-months”.

Samoa was among 43 countries that abstained, including Australia, Kiribati and Vanuatu.

Seven Pacific Islands Forum members of the United Nations General Assembly voted against the resolution.

Fiji, Nauru, the Federated States of Micronesia, Papua New Guinea, Palau, Tuvalu and Tonga voted against it.

The UN General Assembly voted overwhelmingly for the resolution, with 124 countries voting in favour including Solomon Islands and the Marshall Islands.

The resolution calls for Israel to comply with international law and withdraw its military forces, immediately cease all new settlement activity, evacuate all settlers from occupied land, and dismantle parts of the separation wall it constructed inside the occupied West Bank, UN said.

Many Pacific nations have been the recipients of development aid from Israel in recent years.

New Zealand voted for the resolution which Foreign Minister Winston Peters said “fundamentally a signal of our strong support for international law and the need for a two-state solution.”

However, Peters said New Zealand held concerns about aspects of the text of resolution.

“This resolution was not perfect, and New Zealand has explained clearly at the United Nations…our reservations with aspects of the text.

“For example, the resolution’s 12-month timeframe for Israeli withdrawal from the occupied Palestinian Territory is frankly unrealistic.”