The International Court of Justice (ICJ), the UN’s top court, has weighed in on the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories, deeming it to be illegal.
“The State of Israel is under the obligation to bring an end to its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory as rapidly as possible,” ICJ President Nawaf Salam said.
The court had been working on this case since the beginning of last year.
With its decision, the ICJ has said that Israel should evacuate all settlers from the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and compensate for damages caused by the occupation.
Responding to the ICJ’s statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it was a “decision of lies”.
Amnesty International’s Senior Director for Research, Advocacy, Policy and Campaigns, Erika Guevara Rosas, called the decision “a historic vindication of the rights of Palestinians who have endured decades of cruelty and systematic human rights violations stemming from Israel’s unlawful occupation.”
“The international community, and in particular Israel’s allies, must now take unequivocal action to ensure Israel ends its unlawful occupation, starting with the immediate halting of the expansion of Israeli settlements and reversing the annexation of Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, and dismantling its brutal system of apartheid against Palestinians,” Rosas added.
The ruling follows the ICJ imposing new ‘provisional measures’ obliging Israel to immediately halt its offensive on Rafah in May. A 15-member panel at the ICJ reaffirmed that the Israeli state must fulfil its obligations, halt its military offensive and withdraw from Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost city, the third occasion that the ICJ had imposed measures on the state of Israel since 7 October 2023.
The findings will be taken to the UN General Assembly, which will now decide what measure to take.
This verdict is separate to the ongoing case brought by South Africa against Israel. South Africa has accused Israel of committing acts of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
