The United Nations human rights council has called on Israel to dismantle its settlements in occupied Palestinian territories, and to confiscate the arms of Jewish settlers.
The council voted 45-1 on Monday in favour of a resolution submitted by a group of Muslim countries. Canada opposed the motion, while Cameroon abstained.
The resolution urged Israel to "stop immediately the expansion of the existing settlements" and prevent any new installation of settlers.
It also called on Israel to "reverse the settlement policy in the occupied territories, including East Jerusalem and the Syrian Golan".
T
|
The resolution urged Israel to "stop immediately the expansion of the existing settlements" and prevent any new installation of settlers.
Send us your views |
he text demanded the disarming of settlers, and called for "serious measures, including confiscation of arms and enforcement of criminal sanctions, with the aim of preventing acts of violence by Israeli settlers".
For its part, Israel, which is not a member of the human rights council but holds observer status, decried the resolution as a "distraction technique to the real issues which must be resolved".
Itzhak Levanon, Israel's ambassador to the UN, said: "All those who will vote for this resolution are perpetuating the conflict instead of pushing for a solution."