Significant outputs and recommendations were concluded by Palestinian and foreigner academics, intellectuals and researchers who took part in the political seminar entitled “Voting Behavior in the United Nations Towards the Palestinian Cause.” 

The seminar, sponsored by PALM Strategic Initiatives Centre and organised by the Council on International Relations, was held on Thursday with the attendance of several Palestinian leaders and significant personnel. The seminar basically focused on the change in the voting behavior in the UN towards the Palestinian cause, the reasons behind this change, and the attempts to find solutions to regain the world’s support through reading the reality. 

Dr. Bassim Naeem, the head of the Council on International Relations, confirmed that the council noticed the decline of voting in favor of Palestine, leading them to conduct the study that has the same name as the seminar. The results confirmed their notes, in addition to a number of others studies that took part in the seminar to prove the outcomes of the “voting behavior study.”

Moreover, the study made by Dr. Salah Abdel Atty; the head of the I.C.S.P.R, addressed the voting behaviour of the UN since 2005. His study concluded that the reasons behind the decline in the voting behaviour are sue to the Palestinians’ harmony over their decisions, and the Palestinians’ dealing with the UN on the basis of the absence of strategy. That was supported by the Oslo Aacords that gave the space for the Israeli occupation to be dealt as a peace partner. 

Abdel Atty stressed the importance of reorganising the Palestinian house, and the ability to read the international law which included all the Palestinian rights in accordance with the Palestinian national issue. 

Nasser Al-Qudwa, the former Palestinian Foreign Minister, confirmed via Zoom that the UN resolutions are binding to all the parties. However, the problem lies in that the international law has become an inactive power. 

John Dugart, the Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in the Palestinian Lands occupied since 1976, confirmed the importance of distinguishing between the UN in Geneva and New York, and its Offices in Gaza, West Bank, and Al-Quds. He also said that the UN in Geneva does not have the same positions as the UN In New York, but, in general, all the UN Offices are committed to protecting the Palestinian rights, confirming the significance of exposing the occupation crimes against the Palestinians. 

Hamdy Shaqoura noted that the occupation’s policy in based on destructing the Palestinian identity and geography, and this is what we are living now as the West Bank is separated from Al-Quds. However, the civil community organisations started to expose the occupation plans in front of the world and confirm that occupation is an apartheid state. 

Ghazi Hamad, the Deputy of Social Development Ministry, pointed out to the impact of the Arab normalisation on the voting in favor of the Palestinian cause. He stated that normalization breaks the occupation’s vision as an apartheid state; even the voting of the African countries, which were supporting the Palestinians’ rights, started to decrease. (46 out of 55 African countries have relations with the occupation)

Finally, the seminar had several several recommendations to improve the voting behaviour in favor of the Palestinian cause. Most importantly, formulating a national strategy to confront normalization, restoring national unity, investing the efforts of the Palestinian Foreign Ministry in the African countries and the Latin America States to restore their supportive positions towards the Palestinian cause, working on coordinating with the countries’ media whose voting towards Palestine declined, and shaping a movement to counter the normalisation waves; similar to the BDS movements.