THE HAGUE: China has told the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that the Palestinians “must not be denied” justice.
At a hearing on the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories on Thursday, Ma Xinmin, the legal advisor for China’s Foreign Ministry, told the court in The Hague, Netherlands, that although justice has been long overdue, it cannot be ignored.
“Fifty-seven years have passed since Israel began its occupation of the OPT (Occupied Palestinian Territories). The unlawful nature of the occupation and sovereignty over the occupied territories remain unchanged,” he said.
Al Jazeera reported that China utilized its time in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Wednesday to refute the American claim that Israel should not be forced to leave the occupied territories without assurances of security.
According to the US, the ICJ and the UN should not get involved in a matter involving Israel and Palestine on a bilateral basis. China said that the UN should have discussed the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination,” Vaessen added.
“The Chinese delegate stated that since Israel is an outside country occupying Palestine, the Palestinians have a greater right to self-defense than the Israelis do.”
Jordanian, Japanese, and Republic of Ireland delegates also made their cases known at the International Court of Justice on Thursday.
“Israel has committed serious breaches of a number of peremptory norms of general international law,” Ireland’s representative told the court.
Israel had violated the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law, the Irish delegate continued.
A “two-state solution where Israel and the future independent Palestinian state live side by side in peace and dignity remains the only viable path for both peoples,” according to Tomohiro Mikanagi, legal adviser to Japan’s Foreign Ministry, was also informed by the International Court of Justice.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Minister for Law and Justice, Ahmed Irfan Aslam, tomorrow evening, will present Islamabad’s position at the ongoing advisory proceedings of the International Court of Justice in the case on “Legal Consequences arising from the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem,” a foreign ministry statement said on Thursday.
It said the proceedings stem from a December 2022 request by the United Nations General Assembly for an advisory opinion by the Court on the legal consequences of Israel’s policies and practices in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
