Policies and practices used by Israel in its occupation of Palestinian territories are in breach of international law, the United Nations’ top court said in a landmark opinion Friday.
The International Court of Justice said in its opinion, which was read out by Judge Nawaf Salam, president of the world body, that Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, as well as “the regime associated with them,” were established and are being maintained in violation of international law.
The ICJ said Israel should cease all new settlement activities and evacuate settlers from Palestinian territories.
It further said that Israel systematically discriminated against Palestinians and branded the occupation of the territories as “de facto annexation,” and that Israel’s exploitation of natural resources in the Palestinian territories likewise violates international law.
Its “unlawful policies and practices” were “in breach of the Israeli government’s obligation to respect the right of the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination,” the court said.
The International Court of Justice, which is based at The Hague in the Netherlands, had been looking into the legal consequences of Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories following a request from the United Nations General Assembly.
The General Assembly had asked the court in January 2023, prior to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack and the start of the war in the Gaza Strip, to deliver an opinion on Israeli “policies and practices” toward Palestinians and on the legal status of the occupation of Palestinian territories, including the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza.
In a statement on Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed the ICJ’s decision as “false,” saying that “the Jewish people are not conquerors in their own land,” referring to Jerusalem and the West Bank.
Benny Gantz, a more moderate Israeli politician and a former member of the war Cabinet, said…
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