Holding Israel Accountable
A Call to the UN General Assembly on Palestinian Refugees' Right of Return
Israel became a UN member under the condition that Palestinian refugees would be allowed to return home. Now that Gaza has been destroyed and its population crushed, this condition is more urgent and relevant than ever. Israel must be held accountable and suspended from the UN General Assembly until it complies with the UN Charter and international law.
In 1949, when the General Assembly of the United Nations voted on Resolution 273, allowing Israel to become a member, two key resolutions were central to the discussion and Israel committed to both: Resolution 181 – the recognition of the Palestinian state – and Resolution 194 – enshrining the right of return for Palestinian refugees. These 700,000 people, 85% of the total population, had been expelled by Israeli forces from their homes in 1948.
Resolution 194 specifically states that:
refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbours should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date, and that compensation should be paid for the property of those choosing not to return and for loss of or damage to property which, under principles of international law or equity, should be made good by the Governments or authorities responsible.
As of today neither of these two resolutions have been honoured. Palestinian scholar Dr. Salman Abu Sitta explains that there is nothing quite like resolution 194 in modern history. The UN General Assembly has reaffirmed Resolution 194 every year since 1949, over 135 times, along other UN resolutions such as Resolution 169 in 1980, which also reaffirm the right of return.
Israel has failed to uphold the conditions under which it was accepted into the United Nations. It continues to disregard the UN Charter and violate international law—not only in its current military campaign in Gaza, which prompted the International Criminal Court to issue an arrest warrant for its prime minister, but also through its occupation of the West Bank, the apartheid-like policies imposed on Israeli and Palestinian citizens, and many other violations.
Where is the accountability the UN was established to ensure?
Why does it not apply to Israel?
Double standards persist because of the UN Security Council’s veto power, particularly exercised by the US, which has consistently shielded Israel from accountability. This veto power undermines the UN’s core mission and allows violations of international law to go unpunished. However, the Security Council is not the only body within the UN.
In 1974 the UN General Assembly suspended South Africa for their constant violation of the principles of the Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The president of the General Assembly, Abdelaziz Bouteflika of Algeria, ruled that the delegation of South Africa should be refused participation in the work of the General Assembly.
This decision was upheld by 91 votes to 22, with 19 abstentions. Although South Africa remained a member of the UN, its delegation was not permitted to participate in General Assembly sessions until the country’s successful democratic elections in May 1994. For 20 years, South Africa’s delegation could not take its seats, speak, make proposals, or vote.
During the recent and short-lived ceasefire, humanitarian organizations, civil society and international journalists were able to access Gaza again and assess the true extent of death and devastation caused by Israel’s military campaign.
Attempts to evacuate civilians will likely be framed as humanitarian gestures, but are they?
Leaked Israeli plans conceived at the very start of its attack on Gaza – and now confirmed by open and public declarations by the new US President – propose displacing Palestinian people to various Arab nations. From an Israeli government perspective, “voluntary emigration as the best and most realistic plan for the day after the fighting” as said Gila Gamaliel, Israel’s Intelligence Minister.
However, the people of Gaza are not fleeing Palestine—they are fleeing death. After 17 months of bombardments, destruction, and devastation, Gaza has become completely unlivable. The few trucks of aid that were allowed to enter during the ceasefire could address the massive shortages of homes, sanitation, healthcare, water, and electricity. And the situation is not going to improve with the new ongoing attacks. What are the people of Gaza supposed to do?
After enduring a campaign of extermination, when a new ceasefire will come, they will be left with no real options: forced to survive in an uninhabitable land or pushed to leave, knowing that exile would mean the permanent loss of their homeland. For Palestinians, this is not a choice but a deliberate condition designed to strip them of their identity, history, and rights.
The only humane solution is to grant Palestinians from Gaza the right to return to their original homes, those now within Israel territory, as promised by Resolution 194. This return must be accompanied by the same rights of their neighbours, including freedom of movement, the right to vote and the ability to live with dignity and security.
Israel must be held accountable for implementing Resolutions 194 and 181 and respecting International Law. If it continues to violate these obligations, its participation in the UN General Assembly should be suspended, as was done with South Africa, until the conditions for life, self-determination and dignity are restored to all Palestinian citizens.
As citizens of other countries we have a responsibility to demand that our representatives at the UN are holding Israel accountable. This is not merely a question of legality but an act of humanity —a meaningful step toward collective accountability and away from cycles of violence, oppression, and war.