Summary
The General Assembly’s tenth emergency special session, on “Illegal Israeli actions in occupied East Jerusalem and the rest of the Occupied Palestinian Territory”, convened in April 1997 under the “Uniting for Peace” resolution 377 (V) A after two United States vetoes in the Security Council on the Jabal Abu Ghneim settlement — the first such session in 15 years — and resumed repeatedly through the period (Origins and Evolution of the Palestine Problem: Part V (1989-2000), PDF p.32-35, 41).
Details
- Resolution ES-10/2 (25 April 1997, adopted 134 to 3, with 11 abstentions) condemned the construction of a new settlement in Jabal Abu Ghneim, reaffirmed that Israeli measures altering Jerusalem’s character, legal status and demographic composition are null and void, and demanded the immediate and full cessation of the construction and of all settlement activities (PDF p.33).
- Resolution ES-10/3 (15 July 1997, 131 to 3, with 14 abstentions) reiterated the demand and recommended that the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention convene a conference on measures to enforce the Convention in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, in accordance with common article 1 (PDF p.33).
- Resolution ES-10/4 (13 November 1997, 139 to 3, with 13 abstentions) recommended that Switzerland, as depositary, undertake the necessary steps, including a meeting of experts with a target date not later than the end of February 1998 (PDF p.34).
- Resolution ES-10/5 (17 March 1998, 120 to 3, with 5 abstentions) reiterated the condemnation and demands and extended the experts-meeting target date to the end of April 1998 (PDF p.34).
- Resolution ES-10/6 (9 February 1999, 115 to 2, with 5 abstentions) expressed grave concern at the Knesset laws of 26 and 27 January 1999 extending Israeli law over settlements in the West Bank and Gaza, and recommended the High Contracting Parties convene a conference on 15 July 1999 at Geneva (PDF p.35).
- The Conference of the High Contracting Parties, the first of its kind in the history of the Convention, was held at Geneva on 15 July 1999, attended by 103 countries, and reaffirmed the Convention’s applicability to the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem (Conference of High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention (Geneva, 15 July 1999)) (PDF p.35).
- Resolution ES-10/7 (20 October 2000), adopted at the session’s fifth resumption after the outbreak of the Second Intifada, condemned the violence that took place on 28 September 2000 and the following days, resulting in the deaths of over 100 people, the vast majority of whom were Palestinian civilians, and strongly supported the establishment of a mechanism of inquiry and the Sharm el-Sheikh fact-finding committee (PDF p.41).
Related pages
Origins and Evolution of the Palestine Problem: Part V (1989-2000), Har Homa, Fourth Geneva Convention, Conference of High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention (Geneva, 15 July 1999), Second Intifada