Ramallah, December 20 (RHC)-- The Palestinian Authority (PA) has hailed a United Nations General Assembly vote recognizing the Palestinian people's sovereignty over their natural resources.

A total of 156 General Assembly members voted in favor of the resolution, against seven negative votes, including one cast by the United States, and 15 abstentions.  The draft resolution "affirms the permanent sovereignty of the Palestinian people in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East al-Quds, and of the Arab population in the occupied Syrian Golan [Heights] over their natural resources," the Palestinian Wafa news agency reported, citing the contents of the document.

Reacting to the development on Saturday, the PA's Foreign Minister Riyad Malki welcomed the resolution, thanking the countries that voted in its favor.  The official called on the international community to force the Israeli regime to implement international resolutions and to guarantee the freedom of the Palestinian people to benefit from their natural resources.

The Israeli regime, the statement added, also had to compensate the Palestinian nation for exploiting, damaging, depleting or endangering their natural resources.  Israel claimed existence in 1948 after a Western-backed war against Palestinian and other regional territories.

It occupied more territories in another war in 1967.  Since then, the regime has built numerous settlements and enforced the most aggressive restrictions on Palestinian movement in the occupied territories.