The Hague: In its strongest verdicts on the Israel-Palestine conflict, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) - UN's highest court - on Friday said Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories and settlements is illegal and should be withdrawn as soon as possible. The advisory opinion by judges at the World Court was not binding but carries weight under international law and may weaken support for Israel.
The judges highlighted a wide list of policies, including the building and expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, the use of the area's natural resources, the annexation and imposition of permanent control over lands and discriminatory policies against Palestinians, all of which it said violated international law.
"Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and the regime associated with them, have been established and are being maintained in violation of international law," President Nawaf Salam said, reading the findings of a 15-judge panel. The court further said Israel's obligations include paying restitution for harm and "the evacuation of all settlers from existing settlements".
In a strongly-worded verdict, the court said Israel had no sovereignty in the territories and was violating international laws against acquiring territory by force and was impeding the right of Palestinians to self-determination. The ICJ also said the UN Security Council, General Assembly and all states have an obligation not to recognise the occupation as legal nor "render aid or assistance" towards maintaining Israel's presence in the occupied territories.
Abuse of status as 'occupying power'
The court's opinion, sought by the UN General Assembly after a Palestinian request came against the backdrop of Israel's devastating military assault on Gaza, which was triggered by the Hamas-led attacks in southern Israel on October 7. It is also considering a separate case by South Africa that claims Israel's campaign in Gaza amounts to genocide.
Israel's “abuse of its status as the occupying power” renders its “presence in the occupied Palestinian territory unlawful,” the court said, saying its presence must be ended as “rapidly as possible”. Israel, which normally considers the United Nations and international tribunals as unfair and biased, didn't send a legal team to the hearings. Notably, the case stems from a 2022 request for a legal opinion from the UN General Assembly.
Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem - areas of historic Palestine that the Palestinians want for a state - in the 1967 Middle East war and has since built settlements in the West Bank and steadily expanded them. Israeli leaders argue the territories are not occupied in legal terms because they are on disputed lands, but the UN and most of the international community regard them as occupied territory.
Israel's response to the UN verdict
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu immediately denounced the verdict, saying the "Jewish nation cannot be an occupier in its own land." In a statement, he said, "No absurd opinion in the Hague can deny this historical truth or the legal right of Israelis to live in their own communities in our ancestral home."
Israel's foreign ministry also rejected the verdict as "fundamentally wrong" and said it was completely detached from the reality of the Middle East. "It should be emphasised that the opinion is blatantly one-sided. It ignores the past: the historical rights of the State of Israel and the Jewish people in the Land of Israel. It is detached from the present: from the reality on the ground and the agreements between the parties," it said in a statement.
The opinion also angered West Bank settlers as well as politicians such as Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, whose nationalist religious party is close to the settler movement and who himself lives in a West Bank settlement. "The answer to The Hague - Sovereignty now" he said in a post on the social media platform X, in an apparent appeal to formally annex the West Bank.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry called the opinion "historic" and urged states to adhere to it. "No aid. No assistance. No complicity. No money, no arms, no trade...no actions of any kind to support Israel's illegal occupation," Palestinian envoy Riyad al-Maliki said outside the court in The Hague.
In February, more than 50 states presented their views before the court. The majority of states participating asked the court to find the occupation illegal, while a handful, including Canada and Britain, argued it should refuse to give an advisory opinion. The United States had asked the court not to order the unconditional withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Palestinian territories.
(with inputs from agencies)
