The International Court of Justice (ICJ), the top-ranked court of the United Nations, will deliver an advisory judgment this Friday on the legality of Israel’s occupation of Palestinian lands. This statement, solicited by the UN General Assembly, reflects on one of the most contentious global disputes.
Although the ICJ’s opinions hold no obligatory power, they impact international law significantly, and any explicit declaration of the occupation’s illegality might diminish backing for Israel.
The conception of the advisory opinion tradition precedes the ongoing clash between Israel and Hamas. In an unrelated case initiated by South Africa, the ICJ mandated Israel in May to cease its offensive activities in Rafah located in the Gaza Strip, a ruling Israel forcefully repudiated.
In 2022’s latter half, the General Assembly requested the court to evaluate Israel’s “continuous occupation, colonisation and annexation” of Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem, alongside linked Israeli administration strategies.
The historic Palestine zones of the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem – territories that Palestinians claim for a potential state – were taken over by Israel in the 1967 war. Since then, there has been consistent expansion of the Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
Against the context that disputes the land, Israeli leaders maintain that the territories are not technically occupied. However, the wider international community including the United Nations classifies these areas as Israeli-occupied territories.
In February, over 50 nations were presenting their perspectives to the court. Palestinian representatives implored the court to mandate Israeli evacuation from the occupied zones and demanded the disassembly of illicit settlements.
Without attending the hearings, Israel handed over a written statement warning that the advisory judgment might obstruct resolutions to the Israeli-Palestinian discord.
Most of the participating nations appealed for the court to declare the occupation as illegal, yet a few including Canada and Britain contended that an advisory opinion should be refused.
The United States, a prominent supporter of Israel, advised the court to confine any advisory opinion and refrain from issuing an ultimatum demanding Israeli forces’ withdrawal from Palestinian territories.
The 15-judge tribunal is scheduled to commence reading out their opinion at 2 pm, according to Irish time. Back in 2004, the ICJ declared an advisory ruling stating the Israeli barrier surrounding the majority of the West Bank and the Israeli settlements were ‘breaches of international law’. The ruling was rejected by Israel.
– Reuters