India votes in favour of UN resolution against Israeli settlements in Palestine
United Nations, Nov 12: India voted in favour of a resolution in the UN General Assembly that condemns Israeli settlement activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
The draft resolution titled Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and the occupied Syrian Golan' was approved by the Special Political and Decolonization Committee (Fourth Committee) of the UN General Assembly by a recorded vote of 145 in favour, seven against and 18 abstentions on Thursday.
Those voting against the resolution were Canada, Hungary, Israel, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru and the United States.
India was among the 145 nations that voted in favour of the resolution along with Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, France, Japan, Malaysia, Maldives, Russia, South Africa, Sri Lanka and the UK.
By the terms of the resolution, the Assembly would condemn settlement activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan and any activities involving the confiscation of land, the disruption of the livelihood of protected persons, the forced transfer of civilians and the annexation of land, whether de facto or through national legislation.
The resolution "Condemns" "settlement activities in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan and any activities involving the confiscation of land, the disruption of the livelihood of protected persons, the forced transfer of civilians and the annexation of land, whether de facto or through national legislation."
The resolution "Reaffirms that the Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan are illegal and an obstacle to peace and economic and social development."
The resolution reiterated "its demand for the immediate and complete cessation of all Israeli settlement activities in all of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan."
The voting on the resolution came just days after India had abstained in the UN General Assembly on a resolution that called for an immediate humanitarian truce in the Israel-Hamas conflict leading to a cessation of hostilities and unhindered humanitarian access in the Gaza strip.
The 193-member UN General Assembly met in a resumed 10th Emergency Special Session in October and voted on the draft resolution submitted by Jordan and co-sponsored by over 40 nations including Bangladesh, Maldives, Pakistan, Russia and South Africa.
The resolution titled Protection of civilians and upholding legal and humanitarian obligations' was adopted with 120 nations voting in favour, 14 against and 45 abstentions.
Along with India, countries abstaining on the resolution included Australia, Canada, Germany, Japan, Ukraine and the United Kingdom.
In its Explanation of Vote after the UNGA resolution last month, India's Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Yojna Patel had said "In a world where differences and disputes should be resolved by dialogue, this august body should be deeply concerned at recourse to violence. That too, when it happens on a scale and intensity that is an affront to basic human values."
Describing the terror attacks in Israel on October 7 as shocking, Patel said they deserve condemnation.
"Terrorism is a malignancy and knows no borders, nationality or race. The world should not buy into any justification of terror acts. Let us keep aside differences, unite and adopt a zero-tolerance approach to terrorism," she had said.
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South African police arrest suspect in mass shooting that killed 12, including 3 children
Johannesburg (AP): A 32-year-old suspect has been arrested in connection with a mass shooting which claimed the lives of 12 people including three children at an unlicensed pub earlier this month, South African police said on Monday.
The man is suspected of being one of the three people who opened fire on patrons in a pub at Saulsville township, west of South Africa's capital Pretoria, killing 12 people including three children aged 3, 12 and 16.
At least 13 people were also injured during the attack, whose motive remains unknown.
According to the police, the suspect was arrested on Sunday while traveling to Botlokwa in Limpopo province, more than 340 km from where the mass shooting took place on Dec 6.
An unlicensed firearm believed to have been used during the attack was recovered from the suspect's vehicle.
“The 32-year-old suspect was intercepted by Limpopo Tracking Team on the R101 Road in Westenburg precinct. During the arrest, the team recovered an unlicensed firearm, a hand gun, believed to have been used in the commission of the multiple murders. The firearm will be taken to the Forensic Science Laboratory for ballistic analysis,” police said in statement.
The suspect was arrested on the same day that another mass shooting at a pub took place in the Bekkersdal township, west of Johannesburg, in which nine people were killed and 10 wounded when unknown gunmen opened fire on patrons.
Police have since launched a search for the suspects.
South Africa has one of the highest homicide rates in the world and recorded more than 26,000 homicides in 2024 — an average of more than 70 a day. Firearms are by far the leading cause of death in homicides.
The country of 62 million people has relatively strict gun ownership laws, but many killings are committed with illegal guns, according to authorities.
According to police, mass shootings at unlicensed bars are becoming a serious problem. Police shut down more than 11,000 illegal taverns between April and September this year and arrested more than 18,000 people for involvement in illegal liquor sales.
