By a vote of 157 in favor, 2 against (Israel and U.S.), 3 abstentions, 24 absent, the General Assembly adopted the following resolution which called on member states to assist the Palestinian people. The resolution had no operative implication and little practical meaning. Text:
The General Assembly,
Recalling its resolution 46/201 of 20 December 1991,
Taking into account the intifadah of the Palestinian people in the occupied Palestinian territory against the Israeli occupation, including Israeli economic and social policies and practices,
Rejecting Israeli restrictions on external economic and social assistance to the Palestinian people in the occupied Palestinian territory,
Concerned about the economic losses of the Palestinian people as a result of the Gulf crisis,
Aware of the increasing need to provide economic and social assistance to the Palestinian people,
Affirming that the Palestinian people cannot develop their national economy as long as the Israeli occupation persists,
Welcoming the Middle East peace process started at Madrid on October 1991 and expressing the hope that, despite the difficulties, all sides will pursue this path,
1. Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General;
2. Expresses its appreciation to the States, United Nations bodies and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations that have provided assistance to the Palestinian people;
3. Requests the international community, the United Nations system and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations to sustain and increase their assistance to the Palestinian people, in close cooperation with the Palestinian Liberation Organization, taking into account the economic losses of the Palestinian people as a result of the Gulf crisis;
4. Urges the Government of Israel to accept de jure applicability of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, of 12 August 1949, to all territories occupied by Israel since 1967 and to abide scrupulously by the provisions of that Convention;
5. Calls for treatment on a transit basis of Palestinian exports and imports passing through neighbouring ports and points of exit and entry;
6. Also calls for the granting of trade concessions and concrete preferential measures for Palestinian exports on the basis of Palestinian certificates of origin;
7. Further calls for the immediate lifting of Israeli restrictions and obstacles hindering the implementation of assistance projects by the United Nations Development Programme, other United Nations bodies and others providing economic and social assistance to the Palestinian people in the occupied Palestinian territory;
8. Reiterates its call for the implementation of development projects in the occupied Palestinian territory, including the projects referred to in its resolution 39/223 of 18 December 1984;
9. Calls for facilitation of the establishment of Palestinian development banks in the occupied Palestinian territory, with a view to promoting investment, production, employment and income therein;
10. Recognizes the need for convening a seminar on assistance to the Palestinian people in the occupied Palestinian territory, and, in this regard, suggests to the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People to consider, in its programme for 1992-1993, convening such a seminar, taking into account the assistance needs of the Palestinian people in the light of the developments in the region;
11. Requests the Secretary-General to report to the General Assembly at its forty-eighth session, through the Economic and Social Council, on the progress made in the implementation of the present resolution.