Resolution adopted by the General Assembly  on 20 December 2018          [on the report of the Second Committee (A/73/546)]       73/255. Permanent sovereignty of the Palestinian people in the  Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem,  and of the Arab population in the occupied Syrian Golan  over their natural resources         The General Assembly,    Recalling its resolution 72/240 of 20 December 2017, and taking note of  Economic and Social Council resolution 2018/20 of 24 July 2018,    Recalling also its resolutions 58/292 of 6 May 2004 and 59/251 of  22 December 2004,    Reaffirming the principle of the permanent sovereignty of peoples under foreign  occupation over their natural resources,    Guided by the principles of the Charter of the United Nations, affirming the  inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by force, and recalling relevant Security  Council resolutions, including resolutions 242 (1967) of 22 November 1967,  465 (1980) of 1 March 1980, 497 (1981) of 17 December 1981 and 2334 (2016) of  23 December 2016,    Recalling its resolution 2625 (XXV) of 24 October 1970,    Bearing in mind its resolution 70/1 of 25 September 2015, entitled  “Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”,    Reaffirming the applicability of the Geneva Convention relative to the  Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949,1 to the Occupied  Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and other Arab territories occupied  by Israel since 1967,  __________________    *  Reissued for technical reasons on 7 March 2019.    1  United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 75, No. 973.   A/RES/73/255  Permanent sovereignty of the Palestinian people in the Occupied Palestinian  Territory, including East Jerusalem, and of the Arab population in the occupied Syrian Golan over their natural resources   18-22636 2/5      Recalling, in this regard, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 2  and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights,2 and affirming  that these human rights instruments must be respected in the Occupied Palestinian  Territory, including East Jerusalem, as well as in the occupied Syrian Golan,    Recalling also 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, 3  and recalling further its resolutions ES-10/15 of  20 July 2004 and ES-10/17 of 15 December 2006,    Recalling further its resolution 67/19 of 29 November 2012,    Taking note of the accession by Palestine to several human rights treaties and  the core humanitarian law treaties, as well as to other international treaties,    Expressing its concern about the exploitation by Israel, the occupying Power, of  the natural resources of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem,  and other Arab territories occupied by Israel since 1967,    Expressing its grave concern about the extensive destruction by Israel, the  occupying Power, of agricultural land and orchards in the Occupied Palestinian  Territory, including the uprooting of a vast number of fruit-bearing trees and the  destruction of farms and greenhouses, and the grave environmental and economic  impact in this regard,    Expressing its grave concern also about the widespread destruction caused by  Israel, the occupying Power, to vital infrastructure, including water pipelines, sewage  networks and electricity networks, in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, in particular  in the Gaza Strip during the military operations of July and August 2014, which, inter  alia, has polluted the environment and which negatively affects the functioning of  water and sanitation systems and the water supply and other natural resources of the  Palestinian people, and stressing the urgency of the reconstruction and development  of water and other vital civilian infrastructure, including the project for the  desalination facility for the Gaza Strip,    Expressing its grave concern further about the negative impact on the  environment and on reconstruction and development efforts of unexploded ordnance  that remains in the Gaza Strip as a result of the conflict in July and August 2014, and  commending the efforts of the Mine Action Service of the United Nations for the safe  removal of such ordnance,    Expressing its grave concern about the chronic energy shortage in the Gaza Strip  and its detrimental impact on the operation of water and sanitation facilities, which  threaten to further erode groundwater resources, of which only 5 per cent remains  potable,    Recalling the 2009 report by the United Nations Environment Programme  regarding the grave environmental situation in the Gaza Strip, and relevant reports by  the United Nations country team, including “Gaza in 2020: a liveable place?”, “Gaza:  two years after” and “Gaza ten years later”, and stressing the need for follow-up to  the recommendations contained therein,    Deploring the detrimental impact of the Israeli settlements on Palestinian and  other Arab natural resources, especially as a result of the confiscation of land and the  forced diversion of water resources, including the destruction of orchards and crops  and the seizure of water wells by Israeli settlers, and of the dire socioeconomic  consequences in this regard,  __________________    2  See resolution 2200 A (XXI), annex.    3  See A/ES-10/273 and A/ES-10/273/Corr.1.   Permanent sovereignty of the Palestinian people in the Occupied Palestinian  Territory, including East Jerusalem, and of the Arab population in  the occupied Syrian Golan over their natural resources  A/RES/73/255   3/5 18-22636      Recalling 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,4    Aware of the detrimental impact on Palestinian natural resources being caused  by the unlawful construction of the wall by Israel, the occupying Power, in the  Occupied Palestinian Territory, including in and around East Jerusalem, and of its  grave effect as well on the economic and social conditions of the Palestinian people,    Stressing the urgency of achieving without delay an end to the Israeli occupation  that began in 1967 and a just, lasting and comprehensive peace settlement on all  tracks, on the basis of Security Council resolutions 242 (1967), 338 (1973) of  22 October 1973, 425 (1978) of 19 March 1978, 1397 (2002) of 12 March 2002 and  2334 (2016), the principle of land for peace, the Arab Peace Initiative 5 and the Quartet  performance-based road map to a permanent two-State solution to the Israeli- Palestinian conflict, 6  as endorsed by the Council in its resolution 1515 (2003) of  19 November 2003 and supported by the Council in its resolution 1850 (2008) of  16 December 2008,    Stressing also, in this regard, the need for respect for the obligation upon Israel  under the road map to freeze settlement activity, including so-called “natural growth”,  and to dismantle all settlement outposts erected since March 2001,    Stressing further the need for respect and preservation of the territorial unity,  contiguity and integrity of all of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East  Jerusalem,    Recalling that the Security Council, in its resolution 2334 (2016), underlined  that it would not recognize any changes to the 4 June 1967 lines, including with regard  to Jerusalem, other than those agreed by the parties through negotiations,    Recalling also the need to end all acts of violence, including acts of terror,  provocation, incitement and destruction,    Taking note of the report prepared by the Economic and Social Commission for  Western Asia on the economic and social repercussions of the Israeli occupation on  the living conditions of the Palestinian people in the Occupied Palestinian Territory,  including East Jerusalem, and of the Arab population in the occupied Syrian Golan,  as transmitted by the Secretary-General,7    1.  Reaffirms the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people and of the  population of the occupied Syrian Golan over their natural resources, including land,  water and energy resources;    2.  Demands 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;    3.  Recognizes the right of the Palestinian people to claim restitution as a  result of any exploitation, damage, loss or depletion or endangerment of their natural  resources resulting from illegal measures taken by Israel, the occupying Power, and  Israeli settlers in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and  expresses the hope that this issue will be dealt with within the framework of the final  status negotiations between the Palestinian and Israeli sides;  __________________    4  A/HRC/22/63.    5  A/56/1026-S/2002/932, annex II, resolution 14/221.    6  S/2003/529, annex.    7  A/73/87-E/2018/69.   A/RES/73/255  Permanent sovereignty of the Palestinian people in the Occupied Palestinian  Territory, including East Jerusalem, and of the Arab population in the occupied Syrian Golan over their natural resources   18-22636 4/5      4.  Stresses that the wall and settlements being constructed by Israel in the  Occupied Palestinian Territory, including in and around East Jerusalem, are contrary  to international law and are seriously depriving the Palestinian people of their natural  resources, and calls in this regard for full compliance with the legal obligations  affirmed in the 9 July 2004 advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice3 and in  relevant United Nations resolutions, including General Assembly resolution ES-10/15;    5.  Calls upon Israel, the occupying Power, to comply strictly with its  obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law, and to  cease immediately and completely all policies and measures aimed at the alteration  of the character and status of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East  Jerusalem;    6.  Also calls upon Israel, the occupying Power, to bring a halt to all actions,  including those perpetrated by Israeli settlers, harming the environment, including the  dumping of all kinds of waste materials, in the Occupied Palestinian Territory,  including East Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan, which gravely threaten  their natural resources, namely water and land resources, and which pose an  environmental, sanitation and health threat to the civilian populations;    7.  Further calls upon Israel to cease its destruction of vital infrastructure,  including water pipelines, sewage networks and electricity networks, and to cease its  demolition and confiscation of Palestinian homes and civilian infrastructure,  agricultural lands and water wells, which, inter alia, have a negative impact on the  natural resources of the Palestinian people, stresses the urgent need to advance  reconstruction and development projects in this regard, including in the Gaza Strip,  and calls for support for the necessary efforts in this regard, in line with the  commitments made at, inter alia, the Cairo International Conference on Palestine:  Reconstructing Gaza, held on 12 October 2014;    8.  Calls upon Israel, the occupying Power, to remove all obstacles to the  implementation of critical environmental projects, including sewage treatment plants  in the Gaza Strip and the reconstruction and development of water infrastructure,  including the project for the desalination facility for the Gaza Strip;    9.  Also calls upon Israel not to impede Palestinian development and export  of discovered oil and natural gas reserves;    10. Calls for the immediate and safe removal of all unexploded ordnance in  the Gaza Strip and for support for the efforts of the Mine Action Service of the United  Nations in this regard, and welcomes the extensive efforts exerted by the Mine Action  Service to date;    11.  Encourages all States and international organizations to continue to  actively pursue policies to ensure respect for their obligations under international law  with regard to all illegal Israeli practices and measures in the Occupied Palestinian  Territory, including East Jerusalem, particularly Israeli settlement activities and the  exploitation of natural resources;    12. Underscores, in this regard, the call by the Security Council, in its  resolution 2334 (2016), upon all States to distinguish, in their relevant dealings,  between the territory of the State of Israel and the territories occupied since 1967;    13. Requests the Secretary-General to report to the General Assembly at its  seventy-fourth session on the implementation of the present resolution, including with  regard to the cumulative impact of the exploitation, damage and depletion by Israel  of natural resources in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem,  and in the occupied Syrian Golan, and with regard to the impact of such practices on   Permanent sovereignty of the Palestinian people in the Occupied Palestinian  Territory, including East Jerusalem, and of the Arab population in  the occupied Syrian Golan over their natural resources  A/RES/73/255   5/5 18-22636    the promotion of the Sustainable Development Goals, 8 and decides to include in the  provisional agenda of its seventy-fourth session the item entitled “Permanent  sovereignty of the Palestinian people in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including  East Jerusalem, and of the Arab population in the occupied Syrian Golan over their  natural resources”.    62nd plenary meeting   20 December 2018    __________________    8  See resolution 70/1.