Canada abstained Wednesday from a high-profile United Nations vote demanding that Israel end its sa国际传媒渦nlawful presencesa国际传媒� in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank within a year.

The decision follows a shift in how Ottawa votes at the UN, and it alarmed a prominent Israel advocacy group while earning criticism from two Liberal MPs.

sa国际传媒淲e cannot support a resolution where one party, the State of Israel, is held solely responsible for the conflict,sa国际传媒� Canadasa国际传媒檚 ambassador to the United Nations, Bob Rae, told the General Assembly.

The State of Palestine brought the non-binding motion, which passed 124-14; Canada was among 43 abstentions. The resolution was based on a non-binding ruling by the top United Nations court in July that said Israelsa国际传媒檚 presence in the Palestinian territories is unlawful and must end.

The motion pertained to Israelsa国际传媒檚 decades of occupation in the West Bank, as well as its war against Hamas in Gaza. It comes as the first anniversary of the war approaches and as violence in the West Bank reaches new highs.

Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian UN ambassador, called the vote a turning point sa国际传媒渋n our struggle for freedom and justice.sa国际传媒�

sa国际传媒淚t sends a clear message that Israelsa国际传媒檚 occupation must end as soon as possible and that the Palestinian peoplesa国际传媒檚 right to self-determination must be realized,sa国际传媒� he said.

Israelsa国际传媒檚 UN Ambassador, Danny Danon, slammed the vote as sa国际传媒渁 shameful decision that backs the Palestinian Authoritysa国际传媒檚 diplomatic terrorism.sa国际传媒�

sa国际传媒淚nstead of marking the anniversary of the Oct. 7 massacre by condemning Hamas and calling for the release of all 101 of the remaining hostages, the General Assembly continues to dance to the music of the Palestinian Authority,sa国际传媒� Danon said.

Rae said Canada abstained despite agreeing that Israel is illegally occupying Palestinian territories, because the resolution calls for isolating Israel and contains language around boycotting the country, which he said will not lead to peace.

He said the violence in Israel and the territories it occupies is sa国际传媒渁 conflict where everyone in this room knows that many other states and non-state actors are also directly involved.sa国际传媒�

While the resolution is not legally binding, the extent of its support reflects world opinion. There are no vetoes in the General Assembly, unlike in the 15-member Security Council.

The resolution also demands the withdrawal of all Israeli forces and the evacuation of settlers from the occupied Palestinian territories sa国际传媒渨ithout delay.sa国际传媒� And it urges countries to impose sanctions on those responsible for maintaining Israelsa国际传媒檚 presence in the territories and halt arms exports to Israel if theysa国际传媒檙e suspected of being used there.

In addition, the resolution calls for Israel to pay reparations to Palestinians for the damage caused by its occupation and urges countries to take steps to prevent trade or investments that maintain Israelsa国际传媒檚 presence in the territories.

Liberal MPs Anthony Housefather and Marco Mendicino said Canada should have voted against the sa国际传媒渂latantly one-sidedsa国际传媒� resolution, arguing the abstention doesnsa国际传媒檛 advance conditions for peace or adequately recognize Israelsa国际传媒檚 right to exist.

The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs argued that Canada on Wednesday violated a statement Raesa国际传媒檚 delegation issued last November, which said Canada would vote down motions unfairly targeting Israel.

sa国际传媒淐anada reiterates the importance of a fair-minded approach at the United Nations and will continue to vote sa国际传媒榥osa国际传媒� on resolutions that do not address the complexities of the issues or seek to address the actions and responsibilities of all parties, including the destructive role of terrorist organizations like Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah,sa国际传媒� the Nov. 9, 2023 statement reads.

That statement was issued as Canada abstained on a motion calling for an sa国际传媒渋mmediate, durable and sustained humanitarian trucesa国际传媒� in Gaza. Analysts noted Canada has generally voted against UN motions focusing on Israel, as the U.S. continues to do.

A month later, Canada broke with tradition by voting in favour of a UN motion seeking an sa国际传媒渋mmediate ceasefiresa国际传媒� without specifically condemning Hamas.

Reacting to Wednesdaysa国际传媒檚 vote, CIJA argued Canada is rewarding Hamas by abstaining and not voting against the motion. sa国际传媒淐anada broke its promise and put political expediency before principle,sa国际传媒� the group wrote in a statement.

The International Court of Justice ruling that spawned the motion was a sweeping condemnation of Israelsa国际传媒檚 rule over the lands it captured during the 1967 war. It said Israel had no right to sovereignty over the territories and was violating international laws against acquiring the lands by force.

Rae argued Wednesdaysa国际传媒檚 resolution sa国际传媒済oes well beyond the ICJ advisory opinion.sa国际传媒�

The motion asks UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to submit a report to the General Assembly within three months of putting the resolution in place, sa国际传媒渋ncluding any actions taken by Israel, other states and international organizations, including the United Nations.sa国际传媒�

sa国际传媒淲e fully abide by the decisions of the International Court of Justice,sa国际传媒� Guterres told reporters. sa国际传媒淚 will implement any decision of the General Assembly in that regard.sa国际传媒�

Meanwhile, Canada laid sanctions Wednesday against people with sa国际传媒渞oles in Hamassa国际传媒檚 financial networksa国际传媒� as well as sa国际传媒渆xtremistsa国际传媒� Israeli settlers.