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The International Court of Justice, the highest court of the United Nations said on Friday that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories and settlements there are illegal and should be withdrawn as soon as possible, in its strongest findings to date on the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
The advisory opinion by judges at the International┬аCourt┬аof Justice (ICJ), known as the World┬аCourt, was not binding but carries weight┬аunder international law and may weaken support for Israel.
“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┬аcourt┬аsaid┬аIsrael’s┬аobligations include paying restitution for harm and “the evacuation of all settlers from existing settlements”.
In a swift reaction,┬аIsrael’s┬аforeign ministry rejected the opinion as “fundamentally wrong” and one-sided, and repeated its stance that a political settlement in the region can only be reached by negotiations.
“The Jewish nation cannot be an occupier in its own land,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office 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.
Israel Gantz, head of the Binyamin Regional Council, one of the largest settler councils, said the ICJ opinion was “contrary to the Bible, morality and international law”.
The ICJ opinion also found that the U.N. Security Council, the General Assembly and all states have an obligation not to recognise the┬аoccupation┬аas legal nor “render aid or assistance” toward maintaining┬аIsrael’s┬аpresence in the occupied┬аterritories.
The┬аUnited States is┬аIsrael’s┬аbiggest military ally and supporter.
The┬аPalestinian┬аForeign 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.
The case stems from a 2022 request for a legal opinion from the U.N. General Assembly, predating the┬аwar in Gaza┬аthat began in October.
Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem – areas of historic Palestine which the┬аPalestinians 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┬аterritories┬аare not occupied in legal terms because they are on disputed lands, but the┬аUnited Nations and most of the international community regard them as occupied territory.
In February, more than 50 states┬аpresented┬аtheir views before the┬аcourt, with┬аPalestinian┬аrepresentatives asking the┬аcourt┬аto find that Israel must withdraw from all the occupied areas and dismantle┬аillegal┬аsettlements.
Israel did not participate in the oral hearings but filed a written statement telling the┬аcourt┬аthat issuing an advisory opinion would be “harmful” to attempts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian┬аconflict.
The majority of states participating asked the┬аcourt┬аto find the┬аoccupation┬аillegal,┬аwhile a handful, including Canada and Britain, argued it should refuse to give an advisory opinion.
The┬аUnited States┬аhad asked┬аthe┬аcourt┬аnot┬аto┬аorder the┬аunconditional withdrawal of Israeli forces from the┬аPalestinian┬аterritories.
The U.S. position was that the┬аcourt┬аshould issue no decision that could hurt negotiations toward a two-state solution on a “land for peace” principle.
In 2004 the ICJ gave an advisory ruling that an Israeli separation barrier around most of the West Bank was┬аillegal┬аand Israeli settlements were established in breach of international law. Israel dismissed that ruling.
Notwithstanding the CourtтАЩs advisory opinion, not much is expected to change. Most countries will stick to their own already articulated stance, including Israel.
Team BharatShakti
(With Inputs from Reuters)
