Venu Menon
Wellington, July 23,2024
The United Nations’ top court has called Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories illegal and ordered “the evacuation of all settlers from existing settlements.”
The International Court of Justice (ICJ), located at The Hague in the Netherlands, also urged the UN Security Council, the General Assembly and all member states not to accord recognition to Israel’s “unlawful” occupation of Palestinian lands.
The West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem – areas comprising the State of Palestine – were captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war.
Since then, Israel has established settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
The July 19 ruling by the ICJ came in response to a formal request for its opinion from the UN General Assembly in 2022.
That request predated the ongoing war in Gaza which was triggered by the Palestinian group Hamas’ attack on Israel, and Israel’s counter-attack, in October 2023.
More than 50 UN member states submitted oral testimony before the ICJ, while Israel filed a written statement saying an advisory opinion from the court could undermine efforts to resolve the Middle East crisis.
The latest ruling follows an earlier advisory opinion passed by the court in 2004 declaring an Israeli border fence around the West Bank unlawful.
Israel dismissed both rulings.
The United States, which supplies arms to Israel, has given a nuanced response to the ICJ’s latest opinion. The State Department denounced Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories but expressed concern that the court ruling might thwart efforts to resolve the conflict.
The State Department also took exception to the ICJ ordering Israel to withdraw from the Palestinian territories, saying the court did not take into account Israel’s security needs, highlighted by the October 7 attacks on Israel by the Palestinian group Hamas which claimed 1,200 lives and resulted in 250 people being taken hostage, as per Israeli estimates.
The Hamas-run health ministry puts the updated civilian death toll in Gaza at nearly 40,000.
The ICJ argues Israel’s security concerns cannot “override the principle of the prohibition of the acquisition of territory by force.”
The court further observes that “the effects of Israel’s policies and practices, and its exercise of sovereignty over certain parts of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, constitute an obstruction to the exercise by the Palestinian people of its right to self-determination.”
The court is of the view that by acquiring Palestinian territory by force and depriving the Palestinian people the right to self-determination, Israel violates fundamental principles of international law and renders its presence in the occupied territories unlawful.
The ICJ adds that “the continued presence of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is illegal.”
The ICJ’s July 19 advisory opinion follows up on two earlier rulings.
On March 28, the ICJ ordered Israel to allow basic services and humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza who faced “famine and starvation.”
On January 26, the court directed Israel to take steps aimed at limiting harm to Palestinians and to preserve evidence substantiating the allegation of genocide brought against Israel by South Africa.
The ICJ’s advisory opinion by a multinational panel of 15 judges, though not binding, carries weight under international law.
Venu Menon is an Indian Newslink reporter based in Wellington
