10th Emergency Special Session: Illegal Israeli Actions in Occupied East Jerusalem and the Rest of the Occupied Palestinian Territory (1997– 2026)

The 10th emergency special session was convened over multiple sessions over the course of seven years, from 1997 through 2024.¹ At the time of writing, the 10th emergency special session remains open and can be resumed at any time at the request of Member States. The origin of the 10th emergency special session was the SC’s failure to adopt two draft resolutions (S/1997/199; S/1997/241) in 1997 that would have called for a halt to construction of the Jebel Abu Ghneim settlement and other settlement activities. Both were vetoed by the US. Using the second procedural route established within the UFP resolution, a majority of Member States in the GA concurred with a request by Qatar for an emergency special session to consider “Illegal Israeli actions in occupied East Jerusalem and the rest of the Occupied Palestinian Territory”, in light of the failure of the SC to fulfil its peace and security role due to a veto of one of the permanent members (A/ES-10/1).²

The first sessions convened under the 10th emergency special sessions did take up the specific issues in the failed draft resolutions, resulting in several resolutions in 1997 that condemned Israel’s construction of a new settlement in Jebel Abu Ghneim, demanded the “immediate and full cessation” of Israeli actions that altered the character of Jerusalem, and reinforced the obligations of the Geneva Convention in occupied territories (A/RES/ES-10/2; A/RES/ES-10/3; A/RES/ES-10/4). However, as the 10th emergency special session was adjourned and reconvened over the subsequent seven years, the matters considered became more wide-ranging, including: expansion of Israeli settlements in the OPT; the construction of a separation wall in the OPT from 2002 on; operations and activities in the Gaza Strip under Israel’s Operation Cast Lead (which commenced on 27 December 2008); and the escalation of violence in the Gaza Strip in 2023 and 2024.

The GA responses to these different events spanned the full scope of responses discussed in this Handbook. The following list is not a comprehensive summary but helps illustrate the tenor and wide-ranging nature of recommendations within the 10th emergency special session.

Resolutions containing statements and recommendations related to the use of force:

• Reiterating the obligations of the Geneva Convention in occupied territories (A/RES/ES-10/2; A/RES/ES-10/3; A/RES/ES-10/4; A/RES/ES-10/5; A/RES/ES-10/6; A/RES/ES-10/7).
• Expressing concern over clashes between the Israeli army and Palestinian police, and condemning acts of violence that took place in the 2000s, especially “excessive use of force by Israeli forces against Palestinian civilians” (A/RES/ES-10/7).
• Demanding an immediate cessation of violence and the use of force (A/RES/ES-10/7) following a Palestinian uprising after the visit of Israeli opposition leader Ariel Sharon to a holy Islamic site in Jerusalem in September 2000.
• Calling for an end to military incursions and violence in 2002, and demanding that Israeli forces withdraw to pre-September 2000 positions (A/RES/ES-10/11).
• Calling on Israel in 2003 to desist from any act of deportation and cease any threat to the safety of President Arafat (A/RES/ES-10/12).
• Demanding in 2003 that Israel stop and reverse the construction of a separation barrier in Palestinian territories (A/RES/ES-10/13).
• Seconding the calls within SC resolution 1860 in 2009 (S/RES/1860) for an immediate ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, following the commencement of Israel’s Operation Cast Lead in 2008 (A/RES/ES-10/18).
• Stressing the need to protect civilians in the Gaza Strip in 2018 (A/RES/ES-10/20).
• Calling all parties to refrain from using force and to exercise “maximum restraint and calm”, stressing the need for immediate and significant steps to stabilize the situation (A/RES/ES-10/20).
• Calling for a humanitarian truce and the “protection of civilians and upholding legal and humanitarian obligations” in the context of Israeli operations following the 7 October 2023 attack by Hamas and kidnapping of Israeli citizens (A/RES/ES-10/21).
• In a follow up to resolution ES-10/21, demanding in December 2023 an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire”, the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages as well as “ensuring humanitarian access” (A/RES/ES-10/22); in December 2024 and June 2025, demanding an “immediate, unconditional and permanent” ceasefire in Gaza (A/RES/ES-10/26; A/RES/ES-10/27).

Encouraging Member States to limit or cease support:

• Calling on Member States to cease “all forms of assistance and support for illegal Israeli activities” (A/RES/ES-10/2).
• Recommending that Member States “actively discourage” any activities that contribute to settlements (A/RES/ES-10/3; A/RES/ES-10/4).
• Reiterating previous recommendations for Member States to cease all forms of assistance and support for illegal Israeli activities in the OPT and “actively to discourage activities that directly contribute to any construction or development of those settlements” (A/RES/ES-10/19).
• Calling upon all States to comply with obligations under international law reflected in an ICJ advisory opinion deeming Israeli settlements in the OPT illegal, including by not “recogniz[ing] as legal” Israel’s unlawful presence in the OPT or “render[ing] aid or assistance in maintaining the situation” (A/RES/ES-10/24).

Requesting or instituting accountability mechanisms:

• Calling in 1997, 1998 and 1999 for a conference on measures to enforce the Geneva Convention in the OPT (A/RES/ES-10/3; A/RES/ES-10/4; A/RES/ES-10/5; A/RES/ES-10/6).³
• Calling on the Secretary-General to establish an FFM regarding the November 2006 attack on Beit Hanoun in the Gaza Strip (A/RES/ES-10/16).
• Inviting the “depository of the 4th Geneva Convention to consult on the development of the humanitarian situation in the field” to ensure respect for the Convention (A/RES/ES-10/7).
• Requesting in 2003 an ICJ advisory opinion on the legality of a separation wall in parts of occupied Palestine (A/ES-10/273, paras. 184, 200).⁴ In 2004, the ICJ found the construction of a wall in the OPT to be illegal (A/ES-10/273), and the GA welcomed the opinion in 2004 (A/RES/ES-10/15).
• Establishing a UN Register of Damage (as a subsidiary organ of the GA) to record losses caused by the construction of the separation wall in the OPT (A/RES/ES-10/17).
• Recognizing the need for an international mechanism for reparation for all damage, loss or injury arising from the internationally wrongful acts of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and calling for a convening of the Conference of High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention on the matter (A/RES/ES-10/24), following a 2024 ICJ advisory opinion that found Israeli settlements in the OPT to be illegal.

Appeals for “good offices” and engagement on issues related to mediation:

• Expressing support for the Middle East peace process and efforts to reach a final settlement (A/RES/ES-10/7), and later for a “reinjection of momentum” into the stalled Middle East peace process (A/RES/ES-10/3; A/RES/ES-10/4).
• Expressing support for the “efforts of the Quartet” and demanding that both sides fully comply with obligations under the roadmap (S/2003/529 Annex) for a two-State solution (A/RES/ES-10/12).
• Deciding to convene an international conference on the “question of Palestine and the two-State Solution” for peace in the Middle East under GA auspices during the 79th session (A/RES/ES-10/24).

Questions of legitimacy and participation:

• Affirming that any attempts to change Jerusalem’s character, status or demographics are legally void and must be reversed, following the US recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel in 2017 (A/RES/ES-10/19).
• Giving additional rights and privileges of participation to the State of Palestine starting from the 79th session and urging the SC to give “favourable consideration” to Palestine’s request for full UN membership (A/RES/ES-10/23).⁵