The U.N. General Assembly approved late on Tuesday a resolution demanding that Israel halt construction of a barrier cutting the Jewish state off from Palestinian West Bank lands.

The vote was 144 in favor, 4 against, including the United States and Israel, and 12 abstentions.

A compromise text, negotiated during more than six hours of haggling between European Union and Arab governments, demands that Israel "stop and reverse the construction of the wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory" and calls the barrier "in contradiction to relevant provisions of international law."

An earlier version, drafted by Palestinian U.N. envoy Nasser al-Kidwa and endorsed by Arab governments, would have declared the wall to be a violation of international law that "must be ceased and reversed." The new text softened this concept to win over the EU, which sponsored the resolution instead of the Arab group.

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