ICJ to present advisory opinion on consequences of Israeli occupation

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
12 Jul 2024 21:28

The ICJ conducted a week-long session in February to hear submissions from 52 countries after a request from the United Nations late last year.

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Judges enter the International Court of Justice, or World Court, in The Hague, Netherlands, on Friday, May 24, 2024. (AP)

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is set to announce next week its opinion on the legal implications of "Israel's" occupation of Palestinian territories since 1967, following submissions from 52 countries.

While the UN's top court advisory opinion will not be legally binding, it comes amid increasing international legal pressure on the Israeli occupation entity due to the aggression on the Gaza Strip ongoing since October 7, 2023.

According to the ICJ, a public sitting will be held at the Peace Palace in The Hague on July 19, where Judge Nawaf Salam will deliver the Advisory Opinion.

The ICJ conducted a week-long session in February to hear submissions from countries after a request from the United Nations late last year.

The UN sought an "advisory opinion" on the "legal consequences arising from the policies and practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory," including the eastern part of al-Quds.

During the hearings, most speakers urged "Israel" to end its occupation, which began, according to them, after the six-day war between the Arab forces and the Israeli occupation military in 1967.

Speakers cautioned that an extended Israeli occupation posed a significant threat to stability in the Middle East and beyond.

On its part, the United States argued that "Israel" should not be compelled to withdraw from occupied territories without considering its "very real security needs."

It is noteworthy that "Israel" did not participate in the hearings but submitted written comments criticizing the questions posed by the ICJ as "prejudiced" and "tendentious".

While the occupation in question is that which took place in 1967, it is worth recalling that in 1948, David Ben-Gurion, who later became the first Israeli Prime Minister, announced the establishment of the so-called "State of Israel" over an area of 85% of Palestine, after Zionist gangs carried out more than 70 massacres against the Palestinian people and forcibly displaced hundreds of thousands of others to the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and neighboring Arab countries.

Today, Palestinians annually commemorate this Nakba, which translates to catastrophe, on May 15.