Top UN court says Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories is illegal

[Pelican Press 0]

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Top UN court says *******’s occupation of ************ territories is ********

Judges at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) rule on emergency measures against ******* following accusations by South ******* that the ******** military operation in Gaza is a state-led genocide, in The Hague, Netherlands, January 26, 2024. 

Piroschka Van De Wouw | Reuters

The ******* Nations’ highest court said on Friday that *******’s occupation of ************ territories and settlements there are ******** and should be withdrawn as soon as possible, in its strongest findings to date on the *******-************ conflict.

The advisory opinion by judges at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), known as the World Court, was not binding but carries weight under international law and may weaken support for *******.

“******** 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 said *******’s obligations include paying restitution for harm and “the evacuation of all settlers from existing settlements”.

In a swift reaction, *******’s foreign 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 ******* nation cannot be an occupier in its own land,” ******** Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement.

Members of *******’s security forces take positions during an ******** raid at the Nur Shams camp for ************ refugees near the occupied West Bank city of Tulkarm, on January 4, 2024. 

Zain Jaafar | AFP | Getty Images

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.

******* Gantz, head of the Binyamin Regional Council, one of the largest settler councils, said the ICJ opinion was “contrary to the ******, morality and international law”.

‘No complicity’

The ICJ opinion also found that the U.N. Security Council, the General Assembly and all states have an obligation not to recognize the occupation as legal nor “render aid or assistance” toward maintaining *******’s presence in the occupied territories.

The ******* States is *******’s biggest military ally and supporter.

The ************ 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 *******’s ******** occupation,” ************ 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 

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 that began in October.

******* captured the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem – areas of historic Palestine which 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.

An ******** flag flies on the Mount of Olives overlooking the Al Aqsa mosque compound and the city skyline in Jerusalem on April 19, 2024. US media quoted officials saying ******* had carried out retaliatory strikes on its arch-rival Iran, while Iran’s state media reported explosions in the central province of Isfahan on April 19. 

Ahmad Gharabli | Afp | Getty Images

******** leaders argue the territories are not occupied in legal terms because they are on disputed lands, but the ******* Nations and most of the international community regard them as occupied territory.

In February, more than 50 states 

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 their views before the court, with ************ representatives asking the court to find that ******* must withdraw from all the occupied areas and dismantle ******** settlements.

******* did not participate in the ***** hearings but filed a written statement telling the court that issuing an advisory opinion would be “harmful” to attempts to resolve the ********-************ conflict.

The majority of states participating asked the court to find the occupation ********, while a handful, including Canada and Britain, argued it should refuse to give an advisory opinion.

The ******* States had asked the court not to order the unconditional withdrawal of ******** forces from the ************ territories.

The U.S. position was that the court should 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 ******** separation barrier around most of the West Bank was ******** and ******** settlements were established in breach of international law. ******* dismissed that ruling.

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#Top #court #Israels #occupation #************ #territories #********

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