The United Nations Commission on the Status of Women approved a draft resolution on Saturday regarding the status of Palestinian women, including strengthening economic and social policies to enhance the situation of women in the occupied territory, while strongly condemning Israel’s human rights violations in the Palestinian territory, Maan News Agency reported.
The draft resolution, titled “situation of and assistance to Palestinian women,” was adopted with 30 countries voting in favor and 12 abstentions. Israel was the only country to vote against the resolution.
The text of the resolution expressed “deep concern over the ongoing illegal Israeli occupation and all of its manifestations,” specifically outlining the effects Israel’s illegal settlement construction, continued home demolitions, and imprisonment has had on Palestinian women.
Israel slams UN report blaming it for domestic abuse of Palestinian women
conditions surrounding Palestinian womenhttps://t.co/PPERHCD9aU]— Jonathan Cahn (@Jonathan_Cahn) March 15, 2016
The UN also cited the high rates of poverty in the Palestinian territory, along with “unemployment, food insecurity, inadequate water supply and unsafe drinking water, shortages of electricity and fuel, incidents of domestic violence and declining health, education and living standards, including the rising incidence of trauma and the decline in psychological well-being,” as having an increasingly adverse effect on the women, particularly in the besieged Gaza Strip.
The resolution also noted the UN’s “grave concern” over “all acts of violence, intimidation and provocation by Israeli settlers against Palestinian civilians,” while highlighting the “excessive and indiscriminate use of force by Israeli occupying forces” that has caused the deaths of scores of Palestinian civilians, including women and girls.
The situation in the Gaza Strip was underscored in the resolution, particularly the effects following Israel’s 2014 military offensive that left thousands of Palestinian civilians killed, including women and children, and the devastating toll it has taken on the coastal enclave’s basic infrastructure.
A group of women in #Gaza started Palestine's first baseball team. Sadly they don't have the equipment, and the siege is part of the reason pic.twitter.com/7yU5hl1lk4
— Days of Palestine (@DaysofPalestine) March 21, 2017
The UN encouraged the international community to “ensure accountability for all violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law in order to end impunity, ensure justice, deter further violations, protect civilians and promote peace,” and to continue providing urgent assistance to Palestinians suffering from a nearly half century Israeli military occupation and a decade-long Israeli siege.
The UN “reaffirms that the Israeli occupation remains the major obstacle for Palestinian women with regard to their advancement, self-reliance and integration in the development of their society,” the resolution read, while highlighting the importance of increasing Palestinian women’s roles in decision-making in “conflict prevention and resolution,” and their equal participation in solving all aspects of the conflict.
(Maan, PC, Social Media)
