1:49 p.m., July 22
The United Nations Supreme Court declared on July 19 that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories and settlements there is illegal and should be withdrawn as soon as possible, in its strongest findings yet on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Based on the court’s findings, International Court of Justice (ICJ) President Nawaf Salam said it had found that “Israel’s continued presence in the occupied Palestinian territory is illegal.”
“The State of Israel is obliged to end its offensive presence in the occupied Palestinian territory as quickly as possible,” he said.
He said Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in 2005 did not end Israel’s occupation of the area, as it still exercises effective control over it.
The court also said Israel should evacuate all its settlers from the West Bank and East Jerusalem and pay reparations to the Palestinians for damages caused by the occupation.
File photo: Al Jazeera/AFP
The ICJ said Israel’s “policies and practices amount to the annexation of large parts of the Occupied Palestinian Territory”, which it said is contrary to international law, adding that Israel “has no claim to sovereignty” over any part of the Occupied Territories.
Among its other far-reaching findings, the court said that Israel’s restrictions on Palestinians in the occupied territories constituted “systemic discrimination based on, inter alia, race, religion or ethnic origin.” She also said that Israel illegally exploited the Palestinians’ natural resources and violated their right to self-determination.
The court also advised states to refrain from any action, including the provision of aid or assistance, that would maintain the status quo.
The ICJ, based in The Hague, Netherlands, has been investigating this matter since the beginning of last year at the request of the UN General Assembly.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu quickly issued a blunt statement rejecting what the court ruled.
“The Jewish people are not occupiers in their own land – neither in our eternal capital, Jerusalem, nor in our ancestral heritage in Judea and Samaria” (the West Bank), Netanyahu said in a statement. BBC.
“No decision of lies in The Hague will distort this historical truth, and similarly the legality of Israeli settlements in all parts of our homeland cannot be questioned,” the Israeli prime minister said.
The advisory opinion of judges at the International Court of Justice, known as the World Court, was not binding, but it carries weight under international law and may weaken support for Israel.
Al Jazeera reports that several countries are calling on the international community to put pressure on Israel in awakening the UN’s top court’s “divisive” opinion.
There has reportedly been an international backlash since the UN’s highest court ruled that Israel’s continued presence in the occupied Palestinian territory is offensive and should be ended urgently.
Palestinian officials hailed the International Court of Justice ruling as a “watershed moment” in their decades-long struggle for justice.
