Spain’s delegation tells the International Court of Justice that “it is an indisputable reality that the situation in Palestine has worsened” over the past 20 years.
The situation in occupied Palestine has “indisputably” worsened over the past 20 years, and resolutions “have failed to establish redress and sanction measures,” Spain’s delegation to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has said.
According to the Anadolu news agency, Santiago Ripol Carulla, head of the International Legal Office at the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, presented Spain’s oral statements in advisory proceedings on the legal consequences of Israel’s policies and practices in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, citing the worsening situation across the territories.
“Once again, 20 years after the Advisory Opinion on the Wall was passed, it is an indisputable reality that the situation in Palestine has worsened,” Carulla said.
He noted that resolutions of the UN Security Council and the General Assembly have repeatedly condemned Israel’s actions and demanded the cessation of the violations of international law.
Good thread on Spain’s presentation on behalf of Palestine and international law at the ICJ. Truly remarkable how many states are now willing to support international law even when the U.S. and Israel do not want them to. https://t.co/UvRLslyWFG
— Amjad Atallah (@AtallahAmjad) February 26, 2024
“However, such resolutions have failed to establish redress and sanction measures,” he emphasized.
Carulla recalled the relevant resolutions, saying that states are obliged not to take measures that would imply changes in the status of the occupied territories, including East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, the report added.
“The corollary is clear: establishing diplomatic missions in the Holy City (of Jerusalem) is a serious threat to the stability of peace in the region and the world,” he said.
Emilio Pin Godos, deputy head of the International Legal Office at Spain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, focused on the unjust treatment of Palestinian and Israeli civilians before the law.
“Palestinians in the occupied Palestinian territories are subject to a system of jurisdictional fragmentation in the context of a structure of institutionalised discrimination,” he said.
Israeli military courts “enforce military law upon Palestinians, while Israeli courts apply Israeli civil law to Israelis, including settlers,” Godos stressed.
Contrary to Fourth Geneva Convention
Referring to the world court’s 2004 decision, Godos highlighted that Israel’s settlement policies in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including measures taken with regard to Jerusalem and the construction of a wall, were established to be in violation of international law, the report added.
He said it is a violation of international law “not only because they are contrary to the Fourth Geneva Convention, but also because they prevent the exercise by the Palestinian people of their right to self-determination.”
Godos expressed concern over the detention, interrogation, prosecution and imprisonment of Palestinian children by Israeli occupation forces.
Earlier this month, the Spanish Foreign Minister, José Manuel Albares, in an interview with Al-Jazeera, declared that, since October 7, Madrid suspended all arms export licenses to Israel, noting that the events of that day “made us realize the importance of a just and permanent solution to the question of the Palestinian people.”
From Self-Determination to Armed Struggle – What Top Diplomats Said at ICJ Hearing Today
The public hearings started last Monday in The Hague following the UN General Assembly’s request for an advisory opinion on the legal consequences arising from policies and practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem.
After dozens of countries testified, the week of public hearings on Israel’s occupation of Palestine concluded on Monday.
South Africa brought a case against Israel to the ICJ in late December accusing it of contravening the Genocide Convention in its military assault on Gaza.
The court in January ordered Israel to take “all measures within its power” to prevent acts of genocide in Gaza but fell short of ordering a cease-fire.
It also ordered Israel to take “immediate and effective” measures to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance in the Gaza Strip.
Close to 30,000 Killed
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 29,878 Palestinians have been killed, and 70,215 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.
Moreover, at least 7,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.
Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.
Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7.
(Anadolu, PC)
God and Peace be with you. Beautiful Soul Palestinian people.