Historic hearings begin on Monday at the UN’s highest court against Israel’s 57-year occupation of the Palestinian territories. The 15-judge decision of this court could have far-reaching effects in the midst of the Israeli occupation.
Six consecutive days of hearing are scheduled at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, Netherlands. An unprecedented number of countries will participate. The case, however, is made against the backdrop of the Israel-Hamas war. But it will shed light on Israel’s open occupation of the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem.
The Palestinian delegation will speak first today. They will argue that the Israeli occupation is illegal. Because, it violates three basic principles of international law. The Palestinian legal team told reporters.
They said that by occupying large swaths of Palestinian land, Israel violated their right to self-determination and imposed racial discrimination and apartheid. “We want to hear something new from the court,” said Omar Awadallah, head of the United Nations Organization Department at the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We want the court to consider the issue of racism. Awadallah said, the court’s advisory opinion will also be a great tool for us to deal with illegal occupation through the use of peaceful international law. UN human rights official Francesca Albanese said decades of injustice would finally face scrutiny.
It will take several months to get a court ruling. But experts say the decision, while not legally binding, could profoundly affect international jurisprudence, international support for Israel and public opinion.
Yuval Shani, a law professor at Israel’s Hebrew University and senior fellow at the Israel Democracy Institute, said the case is likely to be uncomfortable and embarrassing for Israel, given the ongoing war and highly polarized international environment.
There is no scheduled time for Israel to speak during the hearing. However, the country may submit a written statement. Palestinian and leading rights groups say the Israeli occupation is no longer limited to defensive measures. It has transformed into a racist system. It was strengthened by settlement on occupied land. It gives Palestinians second class status. This was done to maintain Jewish hegemony from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea.
In December 2022, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution by a wide margin. The World Court was requested to give an advisory opinion. Israel strongly opposes the Palestinian proposal. 50 countries abstained from voting.
After the Palestinians’ arguments, 51 countries and three organizations (the League of Arab States, the Organization of the Islamic Conference and the African Union) will address the panel of judges in the wood-panelled Great Hall of Justice.
In the 1967 Middle East War, Israel occupied the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip. The Palestinians want all three territories back for their desired independent state. For this they do not hesitate to take up arms.
According to the monitoring organization Peace Now, Israel has built 146 settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories and houses more than 500,000 Jews. The settler population in the West Bank has grown by more than 15 percent in the past five years.
Israel also annexes East Jerusalem and considers the entire city its capital. Palestinian residents of the city face systemic discrimination. This makes it difficult for them to build new houses or expand existing ones.
The international community considers Israeli settlements illegal. Israel’s annexation of East Jerusalem, home to the city’s most sensitive holy sites, is not internationally recognized.
In 2004, the ICJ ruled that Israeli settlement construction in East Jerusalem and parts of the West Bank violated international law. It called on Israel to immediately halt construction, but the country continues to ignore the ruling.
