Politics Switzerland receives UN mandate for meeting on Middle East conflict

Switzerland is to organize a meeting of the parties to the Geneva Conventions on the Middle East conflict within six months. The UN General Assembly gave it the corresponding mandate on Wednesday in New York.

With a clear majority of 124 votes, the General Assembly also called for Israel to withdraw from the occupied Palestinian territories within a year. Switzerland and 42 other states abstained. Israel and the USA voted against the bill along with twelve other countries.

In July, the International Court of Justice ruled in a report requested by the UN General Assembly that Israel's presence in the occupied Palestinian territories was unlawful. Israel is obliged to put an end to the situation as quickly as possible.

Switzerland had already announced in recent days that it was examining in depth the possible request for a meeting of the parties to the Geneva Conventions.

SDA