Israeli soldiers and armored vehicles near the West Bank town of Beitah
Wahaj Bani Moufleh/AFP
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Wahaj Bani Moufleh/AFP
The United Nations’ top court in The Hague said on Friday Israel’s 57-year occupation of the West Bank and east Jerusalem was “illegal” and called on Israel to end its presence in the occupied territories, including dismantling Israeli settlements there and paying compensation. .
The ICJ’s advisory decision is non-binding and is unlikely to have much practical impact on the West Bank and east Jerusalem, where the United Nations estimates some 700,000 Israelis live.
But this is the first time the court has expressed an opinion on the legality of Israel’s occupation, which would be another blow to Israel’s international standing.
“The State of Israel has an obligation to end its illegal presence in the occupied Palestinian territory as soon as possible,” ICJ President Nawaf Salam said, reading out the ruling to the 15-member court.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the decision, denouncing its reasoning as “lies”. “The Jews are not conquerors in their own land,” Netanyahu said.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ office called the decision “historic” and demanded “that Israel be forced to implement it,” according to a statement issued by the official Palestinian news agency Wafa.
The International Court of Justice is also weighing claims by South Africa that Israel’s 10-month war with Hamas in Gaza constitutes genocide, a charge that Israel denies. Israel launched the devastating operation aimed at destroying Hamas after the Palestinian militant group launched a raid on Israel that killed about 1,200 people, according to Israel. According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, the war in Gaza has killed more than 38,000 people.
Israel captured the West Bank – as well as east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip – in a 1967 war with its Arab neighbors. Since then, Israeli settlers – who call the area Judea and Samaria – have established communities in the area that the international community has long considered illegal.
Settlement in the Gaza Strip was dismantled in 2005 when Israel withdrew its troops from the southern coastal enclave. Two years later, the Islamist group Hamas took control of the territory amid a brief civil war with its secular rival Fatah. Israel has imposed restrictions on goods entering the area and has further tightened the blockade amid military operations following the October 7 Hamas attack.
The Palestinian Authority, which governs parts of the occupied West Bank, wants an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza. The current Israeli government rejects calls for an independent Palestinian state.
As the war in Gaza rages, violence has increased in the West Bank, with Israeli forces mounting attacks on Palestinian militant groups and settlers stepping up attacks on Palestinians.
The ICJ’s opinion on Friday predates the current Gaza war and was drafted in response to a request by the United Nations General Assembly before the current conflict in Gaza.
