‘Watershed Moment’ – Reaction to ICJ Findings on Israeli Occupation of Palestinian Territory

July 20, 2024 Blog, News
The International Court of Justice. (Photo: video grab)

By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

The ICJ ruling is “a watershed moment for Palestine, for justice and for international law.”

While the International Court of Justice’s findings that Israel’s continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory violates international law have angered Israeli officials, world leaders, including Palestinian officials and organizations have welcomed the ruling.

The 15-judge panel of the UN’s World Court at The Hague also ruled on Friday that Israel is under an obligation “to immediately cease all new settlement activities and to evacuate all settlers” from the occupied land.

‘Israel’s Continued Occupation of Palestinian Territory Unlawful’  – ICJ ​​

The advisory opinion follows a request in December 2022 from the UN’s General Assembly on the legal consequences arising from the ongoing violation by Israel of the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, “including measures aimed at altering the demographic composition, character and status” of Jerusalem.

Palestinian Foreign Ministry

The Palestinian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Riyad Al-Maliki, welcomed the Court’s findings, calling it  “a watershed moment for Palestine, for justice and for international law.”

“This ruling couldn’t be more timely or more sorely needed,” Al-Maliki told reporters following the ruling.

Largest West Bank Land Seizure in Decades – Israel Speeds Up Settlement Activity

“The Palestinian people have endured unbearable suffering and injustice for decades. This ruling is a vindication of their steadfastness and perseverance. This right must no longer be denied or deferred.”

“The court made it clear that the Palestinian people are the only sovereign in the occupied Palestinian territory including East Jerusalem, and that the international community is under an obligation not just to reaffirm the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination but to see to it that this right is implemented immediately.”

Palestinian UN Ambassador

The Palestinian Ambassador to the UN, Riyad Mansour called the ICJ findings “significant”

“Our people want to put an end to this occupation,” Mansour told reporters. “What happened today is a significant step in the direction of ending occupation and attaining the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people including the right to self-determination, statehood, and the right of the refugees to return.”

Mansour emphasized: “We will go to the General Assembly as requested by the Court, in saying that the General Assembly should deal with the modalities for ending this occupation as quickly as possible, along also with the Security Council.”

Hamas

Palestinian Resistance Movement Hamas welcomed the findings, saying it “affirmed the illegitimacy of the zionist occupation and the need to end it.”

In a statement, the movement said the Court’s opinion “exposed the fascist settlement system and called for its termination, highlighting the extensive violations of international law committed by the occupation governments against our people and our Palestinian land.”

It said the decision, and the Court’s demand for the United Nations and the Security Council to consider measures to end the Israeli occupation, “places the international community before the imperative to act immediately to end the occupation and translate the successive decisions issued by the Court into serious steps on the ground.”

“This is especially crucial in light of the ongoing genocide war against our people in the Gaza Strip, the dangerous settlement expansion in the West Bank, and the frenzied Judaization steps in Al-Quds and Al-Aqsa Mosque.”

Hamas called on the United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council to “take the necessary measures to end the occupation, particularly in light of the entity’s rejection of the Court’s decisions and its accusations of anti-Semitism.”

The movement pointed out that the ICJ has issued several decisions ordering a halt to actions leading to genocide in the Gaza Strip and the necessity of facilitating humanitarian aid access to all areas of the Strip.

Additionally, it has called for the cessation “of the ongoing criminal military operation” in the city of Rafah.

“These decisions have been blatantly ignored by the occupation government, with full support and cover from the American administration. As zionist positions continue to attack the Court and its decision today, we call on the international community to embrace these decisions, bypass the American will, and work to compel the fascist occupation to implement them and comply immediately.”

South Africa

South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ronald Lamola, welcomed the ruling saying it “affirms South Africa’s long-standing position that the occupation by Israel of Palestinian territory remains unlawful under international law.”

In a statement, Lamola said the international community “must act to bring an immediate end to the occupation and the gross violations of international humanitarian and human rights law being perpetrated by Israel against the Palestinian people.”

“There is now an additional legal obligation for all States to end complicity in Israel’s illegal actions and to act to ensure respect for international law,” he added.

South Africa, he explained, attaches particular importance to the Court’s finding that Israel is in violation of Article 3 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD), which provides that “States Parties particularly condemn racial segregation and apartheid and undertake to prevent, prohibit and eradicate all practices of this nature in territories under their jurisdiction”.

“This finding of the Court reaffirms that the Israeli Government is guilty of practicing the crime of Apartheid,” said Lamola, “as the court put it, ‘The Court observes that Israel’s legislation and measures impose and serve to maintain a near-complete separation in the West Bank and East Jerusalem between the settler and Palestinian communities. For this reason, the Court considers that Israel’s legislation and measures constitute a breach of Article 3 of CERD’.”

Norway

Norway’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Espen Barth Eide said on X “The ICJ is crystal clear: Israeli policies and practices are to be considered annexation of large parts of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and are in violation of international law.”

He emphasized: “This is an unequivocal message to Israel, which we expect them to comply with immediately.”

Belgium

Welcoming the ruling, Belgium’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Hadja Lahbib said on X: “Belgium will always stand up for the respect of international law.”

Spain

Spain’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that “The ruling includes important pronouncements from the Court on the illegality of the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories and on settlements, among other aspects.”

The ministry urged the UN and the international community to “take into consideration the conclusions of the opinion and to adopt the appropriate measures in this regard.​”

Organization of Islamic Cooperation

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) said the ruling “reaffirms the Palestinian people’s right to establish an independent state.”

It stressed the need for the international community, particularly the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), to shoulder its responsibilities and take the procedures necessary to guarantee the implementation of the ICJ’s advisory opinion as well as to bring an end to the unlawful Israeli occupation and settler-colonialism of the Palestinian territories.

This has to enable the Palestinian people to exercise their right to self-determination, including the right to establish its sovereign independent state based on the June 1967 borders with Jerusalem as its capital, the OIC said, according to the WAFA news agency.

It pledged to pursue its efforts to implement the ICJ’s advisory opinion and hold Israel, the occupying power, accountable for all its violations and crimes against the Palestinian people.

Saudi Arabia

The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed the ruling “in which the ICJ confirms the illegality of the Israeli presence in the occupied Palestinian territories over the past 57 years.”

In a statement, the Ministry stressed “the need to take practical and credible steps to reach a just and comprehensive solution to the Palestinian cause in accordance ith the Arab Peace Initiative and international legitimacy resolutions.”

Türkiye

The Turkish Foreign Ministry said, “The international community is obligated to adopt a determined and strong stance to put an end to Israel’s unlawful practices.”

“We will continue to strive to ensure that the crimes committed against Palestinians, including acts amounting to genocide currently imposed on the people of Gaza, do not go unpunished,” the ministry stressed.

Jordan

Jordan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ayman Safadi, said Amman welcomes the ruling “on the illegality of Israel’s occupation of Palestine.”

“It is a clear ruling on the side of Palestinians people’s right to justice, freedom & statehood. The end of occupation is the only path to peace that will guarantee the rights and security of all,” he said on X.

Oxfam

Sally Abi Khalil, Oxfam’s Regional Director for the Middle East said “This is an historic ruling that lays bare Israel’s criminal actions that have denied rights, marginalised and subjugated Palestinians for decades.”

“Every aspect of the occupation is illegal – settlements and settlers, the denial of water, and the use of Palestinian natural resources,” Abi Khalil noted.

She said the Court “leaves absolutely no doubt that Israel has illegally annexed large parts of the West Bank and East Jerusalem and Palestinians are due reparations for all harms committed since 1967.”

The Oxfam leader stressed: “The Court confirmed that Israel is committing the crime of apartheid in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, which is one of the most serious international crimes.

“There must now be an end to the occupation, the dismantling of settlements, and complete self-determination for Palestinians. The international community cannot continue to ignore legal rulings regarding Israel’s illegal policies and inhumane practices. The UN Security Council must act now and finally put an end to the impunity that Israel has enjoyed for decades.”

Israeli Reaction

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slammed the ICJ’s ruling calling it “absurd.”

“The Jewish people are not occupiers in their own land, including in our eternal capital Jerusalem nor in Judea and Samaria, our historical homeland,” Netanyahu said on X.

“No absurd opinion in the Hague can deny this historical truth or the legal right of Israelis to live in their own communities in our ancestoral home.”

Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it “rejects” the ICJ’s ruling, calling it “one-sided.”

“Unfortunately, the Court’s opinion is fundamentally wrong. It mixes politics and law. It injects the politics of the corridors of the UN in New York into the courtrooms of the ICJ in The Hague,” the ministry said in a statement.

“The State of Israel adheres to the rule of law, and has an independent and respected legal system,” the statement added.

Israeli Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich, posted on X following the ruling: “The answer to The Hague – Sovereignty now.”

Israel Gantz, head of the Binyamin Regional Council, one of “the largest settler councils”, is quoted by the Reuters news agency as saying that the ICJ ruling was “contrary to the Bible, morality and international law”.

Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said the ICJ findings “prove for the thousandth time that this is a clearly political and anti-Semitic organization.”

“We will not take moral lessons from them; the time for governance and sovereignty has come,” he said, according to the Anadolu news agency.

(The Palestine Chronicle)

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