'Israel' rejects legitimacy of ICJ proceedings sought by Palestine

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
19 Feb 2024 19:48

The Israeli FM claims that Palestine's FM made "false accusations" when he told judges of the ICJ that "Israel" is occupying the West Bank.

The Israeli illegal settlement "Ramat Shlomo" in occupied al-Quds on June 5, 2014 (AFP)

The Israeli Foreign Minister described the statement made by the Palestinian Foreign Minister at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) regarding "Israel's" occupation of the West Bank and the eastern part of al-Quds as a "media circus".

Israel Katz claimed that the Foreign Minister was making "false accusations" and "creating a fundamentally distorted reality."

The ICJ is conducting hearings throughout the week to assess the legal consequences of the Israeli 75-year-long occupation, with the court focusing specifically on the past 57 years of the occupation, beginning in 1967, with an unprecedented 52 nations, including the United States and Russia, expected to present evidence.

During today's hearings, "Israel" faced a barrage of condemnation and denunciation.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office rejected the legitimacy of the proceedings, claiming that they were “designed to harm Israel’s right to defend itself from existential threats,” and “dictate the results of a diplomatic settlement without any negotiations.”

This comes as Palestine requested the UNGA advisory opinion, seeking a ruling by the court that Israeli rule in the West Bank and "East Jerusalem" is illegal and that "Israel" must end that rule, dismantle Israeli settlements, and provide restitution to Palestinians who have been harmed by it.

Representing Palestine, International lawyer Paul Reichler said that Israeli control of the territories constitutes an illegal occupation, citing the UN Charter, as well as UN Security Council resolutions 242, 478, and 2334, among others.

He described the expansionist movement in which some 700,000 Israeli settlers now live in West Bank settlements and neighborhoods in the eastern part of al-Quds as “a vast colonial enterprise” in which "Israel" had “implanted settlers” as part of a goal of its usurpation of Palestinian land.

He also reminded everyone of the statements of several senior Israeli officials indicating their intention to permanently occupy parts or all of the West Bank.

'Promoting antisemitism'

Earlier, also in the hearings, Palestine's top diplomat Riyad al-Maliki called on the court's judges to declare the Israeli occupation illegal and "immediately, totally and unconditionally" bring it to an end.

"The Palestinians have endured colonialism and apartheid... There are those who are enraged by these words. They should be enraged by the reality we are suffering," al-Maliki said.

Continuing his attack, Katz claimed that parties asking the Israeli forces to withdraw from the occupied West Bank "without conditions and without negotiations are in fact calling for another massacre of Israeli citizens.”

Additionally, he claimed that the Palestinian Authority had rejected "direct talks to resolve the conflict" for years, “while fostering incitement to terrorism, promoting antisemitism and providing financial incentives to terrorists who murder Jews."

During the session, al-Maliki warned that "justice delayed is justice denied and the Palestinian people have been denied justice for far too long," adding that "it is time to put an end to the double standards that have kept our people captive for far too long."

Al-Maliki then stressed that "the genocide underway in Gaza is a result of decades of impunity and inaction," reaffirming that "ending Israel's impunity is a moral, political and legal imperative."

It is noteworthy that the ICJ has been tasked with examining the repercussions of what it characterizes as "Israel's" "implementation of discriminatory legislation and measures."