THE HAGUE: The United Nations’s top court is set to open historic hearings into the legality of Israel’s 57-year occupation of the Palestinian territories.
The week-long hearings, which start at the ICJ in The Hague on Monday, come as Israel continues its devastating war on Gaza. The offensive has killed over 29,000 Palestinian people since October 7.
The case is separate from the genocide complaint filed by South Africa at the world court against Israel for its alleged violations in the current war. The case focuses instead on Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza since 1967. Palestinian people seek all three parts for an independent state.
ICJ to Hold Hearings on Israel’s Occupation of Palestinian Territories
Today, Palestinian representatives will argue that the Israeli occupation is unlawful as it has violated three key tenets of global law.
The legal team of Palestine told the media that Israel had violated the prohibition on territorial conquest by annexing large swathes of occupied land, imposed a system of racial discrimination, apartheid and violated Palestinians’ right to self-determination.
Head of the UN organizations department in the Palestinian Foreign Ministry Omar Awadallah said that they wanted to hear new words from the court. He added that they had to consider the word genocide in the South Africa petition. The world court will likely take months to make a ruling over the matter.
According to Arab media, Israel had captured the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem in 1967 during a war with Jordan, Egypt, and Syria. Israel withdrew its forces from Gaza in 2005 but still controls the strip’s borders.
In the occupied West Bank, Israel has constructed 146 settlements, the watchdog group Peace Now said. The West Bank settler population has increased by over 15 percent in the last five years, Arab media reported.
Israel also had annexed East Jerusalem while Israel’s annexation of East Jerusalem is not internationally recognized. The case marks the second time the United Nations General Assembly has asked the ICJ for an advisory opinion about the occupied Palestinian territory.
In July 2004, the ICJ found that Israel’s separation wall in the West Bank had violated international law and should be dismantled, though it still stands to this day.
