RAMALLAH, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- Palestine hailed a UN resolution passed by a wide margin in favor of sovereignty over its natural resources.
"Voting in favor of the resolution confirms the right of the Palestinian people and their sovereignty over their natural resources, including land, water, and energy resources," Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Al-Maliki said on Thursday.
Al-Maliki urged Israel "to stop exploiting the natural resources in Palestine, including East Jerusalem, and stop all actions harmful to the environment by settlers, and stop destroying vital infrastructure and confiscating wells and agricultural lands."
The UN General Assembly on Wednesday adopted the resolution by a vote of 159 in favor to eight against, with 10 abstentions.
The UN said, "By the text, the Assembly demanded that Israel, the occupying Power, cease the exploitation, damage, cause of loss or depletion and endangerment of the natural resources in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan."
Al-Maliki called on the international community to work on obliging Israel "to implement international resolutions and guarantee the right of the Palestinian people to their natural resources."
The Palestinians are seeking to establish of an independent Palestinian state on the territories seized by Israel in 1967, including the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, with East Jerusalem as its capital. ■
