Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 9 December 2011  [on the report of the Special Political and Decolonization Committee  (Fourth Committee) (A/66/427)]  66/79. Israeli practices affecting the human rights of the  Palestinian people in the Occupied Palestinian Territory,  including East Jerusalem    The General Assembly,     Recalling the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,1    Recalling also the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,2 the  International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights2 and the  Convention on the Rights of the Child, 3 and affirming that these human rights  instruments must be respected in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East  Jerusalem,     Reaffirming its relevant resolutions, including resolution 65/105 of  10 December 2010 as well as those adopted at its tenth emergency special session,     Recalling the relevant resolutions of the Human Rights Council,     Recalling also the relevant resolutions of the Security Council, and stressing  the need for their implementation,     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 Territories4 and the report of the Secretary-General,5    Taking note of the recent reports of the Special Rapporteur of the Human  Rights Council on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories  _______________  1 Resolution 217 A (III).  2 See resolution 2200 A (XXI), annex.  3 United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1577, No. 27531.  4 See A/66/370.  5 A/66/356.   A/RES/66/79  2  occupied since 1967, 6 as well as of other relevant recent reports of the Human  Rights Council,     Aware of the responsibility of the international community to promote human  rights and ensure respect for international law, and recalling, in this regard, its  resolution 2625 (XXV) of 24 October 1970,     Recalling the advisory opinion rendered on 9 July 2004 by the International  Court of Justice, 7 and recalling also General Assembly resolutions ES-10/15 of  20 July 2004 and ES-10/17 of 15 December 2006,     Noting in particular the Court’s reply, including that the construction of the  wall being built by Israel, the occupying Power, in the Occupied Palestinian  Territory, including in and around East Jerusalem, and its associated regime are  contrary to international law,     Reaffirming the principle of the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory  by force,     Reaffirming also the applicability of the Geneva Convention relative to the  Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949,8 to the Occupied  Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and other Arab territories occupied  by Israel since 1967,     Reaffirming further the obligation of the States parties to the Fourth Geneva  Convention8 under articles 146, 147 and 148 with regard to penal sanctions, grave  breaches and responsibilities of the High Contracting Parties,     Reaffirming that all States have the right and the duty to take actions in  conformity with international law and international humanitarian law to counter  deadly acts of violence against their civilian population in order to protect the lives  of their citizens,     Stressing the need for full compliance with the Israeli-Palestinian agreements  reached within the context of the Middle East peace process, including the Sharm  el-Sheikh understandings, and the implementation of the Quartet road map to a  permanent two-State solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,9    Stressing also the need for the full implementation of the Agreement on  Movement and Access and the Agreed Principles for the Rafah Crossing, both of  15 November 2005, to allow for the freedom of movement of the Palestinian  civilian population within and into and out of the Gaza Strip,     Expressing grave concern about the continuing systematic violation of the  human rights of the Palestinian people by Israel, the occupying Power, including  that arising from the excessive use of force and military operations causing death  and injury to Palestinian civilians, including children, women and non-violent,  peaceful demonstrators; the use of collective punishment; the closure of areas; the  confiscation of land; the establishment and expansion of settlements; the  construction of a wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory in departure from the  Armistice Line of 1949; the destruction of property and infrastructure; and all other  _______________  6 A/HRC/16/72; see also A/66/358.  7 See A/ES-10/273 and Corr.1; see also Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied  Palestinian Territory, Advisory Opinion, I.C.J. Reports 2004, p. 136.  8 United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 75, No. 973.  9 S/2003/529, annex.   A/RES/66/79  3  actions by it designed to change the legal status, geographical nature and  demographic composition of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East  Jerusalem,     Gravely concerned in particular about the critical humanitarian and security  situation in the Gaza Strip, including that resulting from the prolonged closures and  severe economic and movement restrictions that in effect amount to a blockade and  the military operations between December 2008 and January 2009, which caused  extensive loss of life and injury, particularly among Palestinian civilians, including  children and women, widespread destruction and damage to Palestinian homes,  properties, vital infrastructure and public institutions, including hospitals, schools  and United Nations facilities and the internal displacement of civilians, as well as  about the firing of rockets into Israel,     Stressing the need for the full implementation by all parties of Security  Council resolution 1860 (2009) of 8 January 2009 and General Assembly resolution  ES-10/18 of 16 January 2009,     Gravely concerned 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  Inquiry10 and in the report of the United Nations Fact-finding Mission on the Gaza  Conflict,11 and reiterating the necessity for serious follow-up by all parties of the  recommendations addressed to them towards ensuring accountability and justice,     Expressing deep concern about the short- and long-term detrimental impact of  such widespread destruction and the continued impeding of the reconstruction  process by Israel, the occupying Power, on the human rights situation and on the  socio-economic and humanitarian conditions of the Palestinian civilian population,     Also expressing deep concern about the Israeli policy of closures and the  imposition of severe restrictions, checkpoints, several of which have been  transformed into structures akin to permanent border crossings, and a permit regime,  all of which obstruct the freedom of movement of persons and goods, including  medical and humanitarian goods, throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory,  including East Jerusalem, and impair the Territory’s contiguity, and about the  consequent violation of the human rights of the Palestinian people and the negative  impact on their socio-economic situation and the efforts aimed at rehabilitating and  developing the Palestinian economy, which remains that of a humanitarian crisis in  the Gaza Strip, while taking note of recent developments with regard to the situation  of access there,     Further expressing deep concern that thousands of Palestinians, including  many children and women, continue to be held in Israeli prisons or detention centres  under harsh conditions, including, inter alia, unhygienic conditions, solitary  confinement, lack of proper medical care, denial of family visits and denial of due  process, that impair their well-being, and expressing deep concern also about the ill- treatment and harassment of any Palestinian prisoners and all reports of torture,     Expressing concern about the possible consequences of the enactment by  Israel, the occupying Power, of military orders regarding the detention,  _______________  10 See A/63/855-S/2009/250.  11 A/HRC/12/48.   A/RES/66/79  4  imprisonment and deportation of Palestinian civilians from the Occupied Palestinian  Territory, including East Jerusalem, and recalling, in this regard, the prohibition  under international humanitarian law of the deportation of civilians from occupied  territories,     Convinced of the need for an international presence to monitor the situation, to  contribute to ending the violence and protecting the Palestinian civilian population  and to help the parties implement the agreements reached, and, in this regard,  recalling the positive contribution of the Temporary International Presence in  Hebron,     Taking note of the continued efforts and tangible progress made in the security  sector by the Palestinian Authority, calling upon the parties to continue cooperation  that benefits both Palestinians and Israelis, in particular by promoting security and  building confidence, and expressing the hope that such progress will be extended to  all major population centres,     Emphasizing the right of all people in the region to the enjoyment of human  rights as enshrined in the international human rights covenants,     1.  Reiterates that all measures and actions taken by Israel, the occupying  Power, in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, in violation  of the relevant provisions of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of  Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949,8 and contrary to the relevant  resolutions of the Security Council, are illegal and have no validity;     2.  Demands that Israel, the occupying Power, cease all practices and actions  that violate the human rights of the Palestinian people, including the killing and  injury of civilians, the arbitrary detention and imprisonment of civilians and the  destruction and confiscation of civilian property, and that it fully respect human  rights law and comply with its legal obligations in this regard;     3.  Also demands that Israel, the occupying Power, comply fully with the  provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 19498 and cease immediately all  measures and actions taken in violation and in breach of the Convention;     4.  Further demands that Israel, the occupying Power, cease all of its  settlement activities, the construction of the wall and any other measures aimed at  altering the character, status and demographic composition of the Occupied  Palestinian Territory, including in and around East Jerusalem, all of which, inter  alia, gravely and detrimentally impact the human rights of the Palestinian people  and the prospects for a peaceful settlement;     5.  Condemns all acts of violence, including all acts of terror, provocation,  incitement and destruction, especially the excessive use of force by the Israeli  occupying forces against Palestinian civilians, particularly in the Gaza Strip, which  have caused extensive loss of life and vast numbers of injuries, including among  children, massive damage and destruction to homes, properties, vital infrastructure  and public institutions, including hospitals, schools and United Nations facilities,  and agricultural lands, and internal displacement of civilians;     6.  Expresses grave concern at the firing of rockets against Israeli civilian  areas resulting in loss of life and injury;     7.  Reiterates its demand for the full implementation of Security Council  resolution 1860 (2009);    A/RES/66/79  5    8.  Demands that Israel, the occupying Power, comply with its legal  obligations under international law, as mentioned in the advisory opinion rendered  on 9 July 2004 by the International Court of Justice7 and as demanded in General  Assembly resolutions ES-10/15 of 20 July 2004 and ES-10/13 of 21 October 2003,  and that it immediately cease the construction of the wall in the Occupied  Palestinian Territory, including in and around East Jerusalem, dismantle forthwith  the structure situated therein, repeal or render ineffective all legislative and  regulatory acts relating thereto, and make reparation for all damage caused by the  construction of the wall, which has gravely impacted the human rights and the  socio-economic living conditions of the Palestinian people;     9.  Reiterates the need for respect for the territorial unity, contiguity and  integrity of all of the Occupied Palestinian Territory and for guarantees of the  freedom of movement of persons and goods within the Palestinian territory,  including movement into and from East Jerusalem, into and from the Gaza Strip,  between the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and to and from the outside world;     10. Calls upon Israel, the occupying Power, to cease its imposition of  prolonged closures and economic and movement restrictions, including those  amounting to a blockade on the Gaza Strip, and, in this regard, to fully implement  the Agreement on Movement and Access and the Agreed Principles for the Rafah  Crossing, both of 15 November 2005, in order to allow for the sustained and regular  movement of persons and goods and for the acceleration of long overdue  reconstruction in the Gaza Strip;     11. Urges Member States to continue to provide emergency assistance to the  Palestinian people to alleviate the financial crisis and the dire socio-economic and  humanitarian situation, particularly in the Gaza Strip;     12. Emphasizes the need to preserve and develop the Palestinian institutions  and infrastructure for the provision of vital public services to the Palestinian civilian  population and the promotion of human rights, including civil, political, economic,  social and cultural rights;     13. Requests the Secretary-General to report to the General Assembly at its  sixty-seventh session on the implementation of the present resolution.