THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The U.N.’s highest court ruled Friday that Israel’s presence in occupied Palestinian territory is “illegal” and called on Israel to end its presence and immediately halt settlement construction, in an unprecedented, sweeping condemnation of Israel’s control over land it captured 57 years ago.
In its non-binding opinion, the International Court of Justice pointed to a wide range of Israeli policies, including the construction and expansion of settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, the exploitation of the areas’ natural resources, the annexation and imposition of permanent control over land, and discriminatory policies against Palestinians, all of which it said violate international law.
The 15-judge panel said Israel’s “presence in the occupied Palestinian territory is illegal” because it has “abuse[d]its status as an occupying power.” It also said Israel’s continued presence is “illegal” and should end “as soon as possible.”
The 83-page opinion, read by presiding judge Nawaf Salam, said Israel must immediately halt construction on settlements and demolish existing ones.
Israel, which generally considers UN and international tribunals to be unfair and biased, did not send a lawyer to the hearings. But it submitted written submissions saying the questions posed to the tribunal were biased and did not address Israel’s security concerns. Israeli officials say the tribunal’s intervention could undermine a peace process that has been stalled for more than a decade.
Responding to the ruling, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the West Bank and East Jerusalem were part of the Jewish people’s historic “homeland.”
“The Jewish people are not conquerors of their own land, neither of their eternal capital Jerusalem nor of the lands of their ancestors in Judea and Samaria,” he said in a post on social media platform X. “No erroneous ruling in The Hague can distort this historical truth, nor can it challenge the legality of Israeli settlements throughout their homeland.”
The court’s opinion, requested by the UN General Assembly at the request of Palestine, is unlikely to influence Israeli policy, but it could influence international opinion because of its broad scope, which includes finding that Israel has failed to assert sovereignty over the territory and is impeding the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination.
Palestinian foreign policy adviser Riad Malki addresses media at the International Court of Justice (World Court) in The Hague, Netherlands, Friday, July 19, 2024. The UN’s top court on Friday called Israel’s presence in occupied Palestinian territory “illegal” and called for its cessation and an immediate halt to settlement construction. (AP Photo/Phil Naihuis)
This comes against the backdrop of a devastating 10-month military offensive by Israel into Gaza, sparked by a Hamas-led attack in southern Israel. In a separate case, the International Court of Justice ruled that Israel’s military actions in Gaza were GenocideIsrael strongly denies this.
Israel captured the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip in the 1967 Middle East war, and the Palestinians want an independent state in all three territories.
Israel considers the West Bank a disputed territory and says its future should be determined through negotiations, but has transferred residents to settlements to consolidate its control. It annexed East Jerusalem in a move not internationally recognized, and withdrew from the Gaza Strip in 2005 but has maintained a blockade of it since Hamas took power in 2007. The international community generally considers all three areas to be occupied territory.
At the February hearing, then-Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki accused Israel of apartheid and called on the UN Supreme Court to declare that Israel’s occupation of land desired by Palestinians is illegal and must end immediately and unconditionally if any hope for a two-state future is to survive.
Palestine submitted its claim in February along with 49 other countries and three international organisations.
If the court rules that Israel’s policies in the West Bank and East Jerusalem violate international law, “it will likely further isolate Israel internationally, at least from a legal point of view,” said Erwin van Veen, a senior research fellow at Clingendael think tank in The Hague.
He said such a ruling “worsens the case for the occupation. It eliminates all legal, political and philosophical justification for Israel’s expansion plans.”
It would also strengthen the power of those who oppose Israel, including the Palestinian-led grassroots movement calling for boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel.
He also said that the number of countries, especially in the West, that recognise a Palestinian state could increase, following the recent examples of Spain, Norway and Ireland.”
This is not the first time the International Court of Justice has been asked for its legal opinion on Israeli policy. Twenty years ago, the court ruled that Israel’s West Bank separation barrier was “in violation of international law.” Israel boycotted the hearings, calling them politically motivated.
Israel says the wall is a security measure. Palestinians say the structure frequently encroaches on areas of the West Bank and amounts to a large-scale land grab.
According to the anti-settlement watchdog Peace Now, Israel has built more than 100 settlements, and pro-settlement groups say the settler population in the West Bank has grown by more than 15 percent in the past five years to more than 500,000 Israelis.
Israel has also annexed East Jerusalem and considers the entire city its capital. An additional 200,000 Israelis live in settlements built in East Jerusalem that Israel considers a neighborhood of the capital. The city’s Palestinian residents face systematic discrimination and have difficulty building new homes or expanding existing ones.
The international community considers all settlements illegal or an obstacle to peace because they are built on land that Palestinians want for their state.
Prime Minister Netanyahu’s hardline government is dominated by settlers and their political allies. Netanyahu has given Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, a former settler leader, unprecedented powers over settlement policy. Smotrich has used his position to push through plans to build more settlements and legalize them, solidifying Israel’s control over the West Bank.
Authorities recently approved the expropriation of 12.7 square kilometers (about 5 square miles) of land in the Jordan Valley, a strategic area deep in the West Bank, according to a copy of the order obtained by The Associated Press. It’s the largest single expropriation approved since the 1993 Oslo Accords at the start of the peace process, according to data from tracking group Peace Now.
