West Bank, ALRAY - 40 States Members of the United Nations expressed their firm support for the International Court of Justice and International Law to comment on the legality of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and east Jerusalem.

It called on Israel to lift its sanctions against the Palestinian Authority this month, in response to the Authority's efforts to push the Court of Justice to issue an advisory opinion on the Israeli occupation.

The United Nations General Assembly has adopted a resolution calling for an opinion from the International Court of Justice.

On January 6th, Israel has announced a package of sanctions against the Palestinian authority, including financial measures in order to pay the price of such a resolution.

40 states member of UN stressed in a statement their firm support for the International Court of Justice and International Law, expressed its grave concerns over Israeli occupation government decision to impose punitive measures against the Palestinian people, leadership and civil society following the General Assembly.

“Regardless the stance of each country, we refuted the punitive measures that Israel imposed in response to the request for an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice and, more broadly, to a General Assembly resolution, and call for their immediate reversal,” the statement read.

The statement was signed not only by States that voted in favour of the resolution (Algeria, Argentina, Belgium, Ireland, Pakistan, South Africa, etc.), but also by States that abstained (Japan, France, South Korea, etc.) and even by other States that voted against the resolution (Germany and Estonia).

“This is important because it shows that, regardless of how States vote, they are united in rejecting these punitive measures," Palestinian Representative to the United Nations Ambassador Riad said.

The United Nations Security Council is scheduled to hold a meeting on the Palestinian issue on Wednesday.