ICJ says Israel’s presence in Palestinian territory is illegal | Israel-Palestine conflict news

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s continued presence in the occupied Palestinian territory is illegal and that it should end “as quickly as possible”.

Nawaf Salam, president of the ICJ in The Hague, read the non-binding advisory opinion on Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory on Friday.

He said Israel violated the sixth paragraph of Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which says that the occupying power must not deport or transfer part of its civilian population to the territory it occupies.

“Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and the regime associated with them, were established and are being maintained in violation of international law,” Salam said, reading the findings of a panel of 15 judges.

He added that Israel’s policies and practices in the Palestinian territory amounted to the annexation of large parts of these territories and that the court considers that Israel systematically discriminates against Palestinians in the occupied territory.

The case stems from a 2022 request from the UN General Assembly.

The ICJ, also known as the World Court, is the UN’s highest body for hearing disputes between states.

Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem – areas of historic Palestine that Palestinians want for a state – in a 1967 war and has since built settlements in the West Bank and continually expanded them.

The United Nations and the vast majority of the international community consider Palestinian territory occupied by Israel.

Jeffrey Nice, a human rights lawyer, told Al Jazeera that it will be difficult for world leaders to completely “disregard” the ICJ ruling, even though it is non-binding.

“This is a part of the legal system that says enough is enough,” he said.

He said it would also be “difficult for the interested, informed and concerned public not to say ‘it’s time for Israel to get its house in order’”.

Al Jazeera senior political analyst Marwan Bishara said: “There is a lot of room for hope that this decision will support a movement, an international movement, at all levels, in the West and in other parts of the world, in favor of more sanctions. . , more pressure on Western governments to put more pressure on Israel,” he said.

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Maliki told journalists in The Hague that the decision marked a “decisive moment for Palestine, for justice and for international law”.

“The ICJ has fulfilled its legal and moral duties with this historic decision; all states must now fulfill their clear obligations: no aid, no assistance, no complicity, no money, no weapons, no trade, no nothing, no actions of any kind to support Israel’s illegal occupation,” he said.

Palestinian Ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour said the decision was a “significant step” towards ending the occupation and achieving the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, including the right to self-determination, statehood and the right to return.

He said his team would study all 140 pages of the decision and “dissect every sentence.”

“We will consult an army of friends at the United Nations and in every corner of the globe,” he said, adding: “We will produce a masterpiece of a resolution” at the UN General Assembly.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry dismissed the opinion as “fundamentally wrong” and one-sided.

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement in which he called the decision a “decision of lies” that distorted the truth and stated that “the Jewish people are not occupiers of their own land”.

In a separate case brought by South Africa, the ICJ is considering allegations that Israel is committing genocide in its war on Gaza.

A damaging ruling has already been made in that case, with the court ordering Israel to prevent and punish incitement to genocide and increase humanitarian aid provisions.

The ICJ also ordered Israel to suspend its offensive on Rafah, citing the “immense risk” to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians taking refuge in Rafah, the southernmost part of Gaza. But Israel continued attacks on Gaza, including Rafah, in defiance of the UN tribunal.