Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 6 December 2016  [on the report of the Special Political and Decolonization Committee  (Fourth Committee) (A/71/494)]   71/95.  Work of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli  Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian  People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories        The General Assembly,    Guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations,    Guided also by international humanitarian law, in particular the Geneva  Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of  12 August 1949,1 as well as international standards of human rights, in particular the  Universal Declaration of Human Rights2 and the International Covenants on Human  Rights,3    Recalling its relevant resolutions, including resolutions 2443 (XXIII) of  19 December 1968 and 70/87 of 9 December 2015, and the relevant resolutions of  the Human Rights Council, including resolutions S-12/1 of 16 October 2009, 4  S-21/1 of 23 July 20145 and 29/25 of 3 July 2015,6    Recalling also the relevant resolutions of the Security Council,    Taking into account the advisory opinion rendered on 9 July 2004 by the  International Court of Justice on the legal consequences of the construction of a wall  in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, 7 and recalling in this regard its resolution  ES-10/15 of 20 July 2004,    Recalling the statement of 15 July 1999 and the declarations adopted on  5 December 2001 and on 17 December 20148 by the Conference of High Contracting  _______________  1 United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 75, No. 973.  2 Resolution 217 A (III).  3 Resolution 2200 A (XXI), annex.  4 See Official Records of the General Assembly, Sixty-fourth Session, Supplement No. 53A (A/64/53/Add.1),  chap. I.  5 Ibid., Sixty-ninth Session, Supplement No. 53 (A/69/53), chap. VI.  6 Ibid., Seventieth Session, Supplement No. 53 (A/70/53), chap. II.  7 See A/ES-10/273 and Corr.1.  8 A/69/711-S/2015/1, annex.   A/RES/71/95  Work of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories   2/5  Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention, and welcoming initiatives by States  parties, both individually and collectively, according to article 1 of the Convention  and aimed at ensuring respect for the Convention in the Occupied Palestinian  Territory, including East Jerusalem,    Recalling also its resolution 58/292 of 6 May 2004,    Taking note of the report of the independent international fact-finding mission  to investigate the implications of the Israeli settlements on the civil, political,  economic, social and cultural rights of the Palestinian people throughout the  Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, 9    Taking note also of Human Rights Council resolution 31/36 of 24 March 2016,10    Convinced that occupation itself represents a gross and grave violation of  human rights,    Noting with deep regret the onset of the fiftieth year of the Israeli occupation,  and stressing the urgent need for efforts to reverse the negative trends on the ground  and to restore a political horizon for advancing and accelerating meaningful  negotiations aimed at the achievement of a peace agreement that will bring a  complete end to the Israeli occupation that began in 1967 and the resolution of all  core final status issues, without exception, leading to a peaceful, just, lasting and  comprehensive solution for the question of Palestine,    Recognizing that the occupation and ensuing persistent and systematic  violations of international law by Israel, including international humanitarian and  human rights law, are considered to be the main sources of other Israeli violations  and discriminatory policies against the Palestinian civilian population in the  Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem,    Gravely concerned about the continuing detrimental impact of ongoing  unlawful Israeli practices and measures in the Occupied Palestinian Territory,  including East Jerusalem, including the excessive use of force by the Israeli  occupying forces against Palestinian civilians, resulting in the death and injury of  civilians and the widespread destruction of property and vital infrastructure,  including during the Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip in July and August  2014, as well as ongoing settlement activities and construction of the wall, the  internal forced displacement of civilians, the imposition of collective punishment  measures, particularly against the civilian population in the Gaza Strip, where  continuing severe restrictions on movement amount to a blockade, and the detention  and imprisonment of thousands of Palestinians,    Expressing grave concern about tensions, instability and violence in the  Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, due to the illegal policies  and practices of Israel, the occupying Power, including, in particular, provocations  and incitements regarding the holy places of Jerusalem, including the Haram  al-Sharif,    Gravely concerned about all acts of violence, intimidation and provocation by  Israeli settlers against Palestinian civilians and properties, including homes,  mosques, churches and agricultural lands,  _______________  9 A/HRC/22/63.  10 See Official Records of the General Assembly, Seventy-first Session, Supplement No. 53 (A/71/53),  chap. IV, sect. A.   Work of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human  Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories  A/RES/71/95   3/5    Gravely concerned also by reports regarding serious human rights violations  and grave breaches of international humanitarian law committed during the military  operations in the Gaza Strip between December 2008 and January 2009, including  the findings in the summary by the Secretary-General of the report of the Board of  Inquiry11 and in the report of the United Nations Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza  Conflict,12 and reiterating the necessity for serious follow-up by all parties to the  recommendations addressed to them towards ensuring accountability and justice,    Deploring the killing and injury of thousands of civilians, including women  and children, during the military operations in the Gaza Strip in July and  August 2014,    Taking note of the report of the independent commission of inquiry established  pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution S-21/1,13 and stressing the imperative  of ensuring accountability for all violations of international humanitarian law and  international human rights law in order to end impunity, ensure justice, deter further  violations, protect civilians and promote peace,    Having considered the report of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli  Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of  the Occupied Territories14 and the relevant reports of the Secretary-Genera1,15    Recalling the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements  of 13 September 199316 and the subsequent implementation agreements between the  Palestinian and Israeli sides,    Stressing the urgency of bringing a complete end to the Israeli occupation that  began in 1967 and thus an end to the violation of the human rights of the Palestinian  people, and of allowing for the realization of their inalienable human rights,  including their right to self-determination and their independent State,    Taking note of the application of Palestine for admission to membership in the  United Nations, submitted on 23 September 2011,17    Recalling its resolution 67/19 of 29 November 2012, by which, inter alia,  Palestine was accorded non-member observer State status in the United Nations, and  taking note of the follow-up report of the Secretary-General,18    Noting the accession by Palestine to several human rights treaties and the core  humanitarian law conventions, as well as other international treaties,    1.  Commends the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices  Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the  Occupied Territories for its impartiality and efforts in performing the tasks assigned  to it by the General Assembly in spite of the obstruction of its mandate;  _______________  11 See A/63/855-S/2009/250.  12 A/HRC/12/48.  13 A/HRC/29/52.  14 A/71/352.  15 A/71/321, A/71/392, A/71/315, A/71/355 and A/71/364.  16 A/48/486-S/26560, annex.  17 A/66/371-S/2011/592.  18 A/67/738.   A/RES/71/95  Work of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories   4/5    2.  Reiterates its demand that Israel, the occupying Power, cooperate, in  accordance with its obligations as a State Member of the United Nations, with the  Special Committee in implementing its mandate, and deplores the continued lack of  cooperation in this regard;    3.  Deplores those policies and practices of Israel that violate the human  rights of the Palestinian people and other Arabs of the occupied territories, as  reflected in the report of the Special Committee covering the reporting period; 14    4.  Expresses grave concern about the critical situation in the Occupied  Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, particularly in the Gaza Strip, as a  result of unlawful Israeli practices and measures, and especially condemns and calls  for the immediate cessation of all illegal Israeli settlement activities and the  construction of the wall, the lifting of the blockade of the Gaza Strip, as well as a  complete cessation of the excessive and indiscriminate use of force and military  operations against the civilian population, settler violence, the destruction and  confiscation of properties, including home demolitions as a measure of reprisal, the  forced displacement of civilians, all measures of collective punishment, and the  detention and imprisonment of thousands of civilians;    5.  Requests the Special Committee, pending complete termination of the  Israeli occupation, to continue to investigate Israeli policies and practices in the  Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and other Arab territories  occupied by Israel since 1967, especially Israeli violations of the Geneva  Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of  12 August 1949,1 and to consult, as appropriate, with the International Committee of  the Red Cross according to its regulations in order to ensure that the welfare and  human rights of the peoples of the occupied territories, including prisoners and  detainees, are safeguarded and to report to the Secretary-General as soon as possible  and whenever the need arises thereafter;    6.  Also requests the Special Committee to submit regularly to the Secretary- General periodic reports on the current situation in the Occupied Palestinian  Territory, including East Jerusalem;    7.  Further requests the Special Committee to continue to investigate the  treatment and status of the thousands of prisoners and detainees, including children  and women, in Israeli prisons and detention centres in the Occupied Palestinian  Territory, including East Jerusalem, and other Arab territories occupied by Israel  since 1967, and expresses grave concern about harsh conditions and ill-treatment of  prisoners and recent hunger strikes, stressing the need for respect for all applicable  rules of international law, including the Fourth Geneva Convention, 1 the United  Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson  Mandela Rules) 19  and the United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women  Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders (the Bangkok Rules); 20    8.  Requests the Secretary-General:    (a)  To provide the Special Committee with all necessary facilities, including  those required for its visits to the occupied territories, so that it may investigate the  Israeli policies and practices referred to in the present resolution;  _______________  19 Resolution 70/175, annex.  20 Resolution 65/229, annex.   Work of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human  Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories  A/RES/71/95   5/5    (b)  To utilize his good offices to facilitate and support the Special  Committee in carrying out its mandate;    (c)  To continue to make available such staff as may be necessary to assist the  Special Committee in the performance of its tasks;    (d)  To circulate regularly to Member States the periodic reports mentioned in  paragraph 6 above;    (e)  To ensure the widest circulation of the reports of the Special Committee  and of information regarding its activities and findings, by all means available,  through the Department of Public Information of the Secretariat and, where  necessary, to reprint those reports of the Special Committee that are no longer  available;    (f)  To report to the General Assembly at its seventy-second session on the  tasks entrusted to him in the present resolution;    9.  Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its seventy-second  session the item entitled “Report of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli  Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of  the Occupied Territories”.