UN Court: Israeli Settlements in Occupied Palestinian Territory Illegal

Daily Report July 20,2024

Israeli Settles ILLEGALLY in Palestinian Territory

In a significant advisory opinion released on Friday, the top court of the United Nations said that Israeli settlements on occupied Palestinian territory are illegal and that all states should work together to end the Israel-Palestinian conflict.

 

Though not legally obligatory, the decisions made by judges at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), also referred to as the World Court, have weight under international law and may reduce support for Israel.

 

/div>

 

President Nawaf Salam read the conclusions of a 15-judge panel and declared, “Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and the regime associated with them, have been established and are being maintained in violation of international law.”

 

 

According to the opinion, Israel ought to compensate the Palestinians for the harm done to them during the occupation. It was also determined that all governments, the General Assembly of the United Nations, and the Security Council had a duty to oppose the occupation as illegal and to refrain from providing assistance or backing for its continuation.

The argument is based on a request made by the United Nations General Assembly in 2022, which was made before the October start of the Gaza War.

 

Following a 1967 war, Israel established settlements in the West Bank and gradually increased their size. The Palestinians desire a state over the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem, which are territories of historic Palestine.

 

The majority of the international world and the United Nations consider the areas to be Israeli-occupied territory, despite Israeli authorities’ claims that they are not legally occupied because they are on disputed territory.

 

In February, the court heard arguments from over 50 governments, and Palestinian delegates requested that Israel remove all unlawful settlements and evacuate from all occupied territory.

 

Israel submitted a written declaration to the court stating that it would be “harmful” to seek to address the Israeli-Palestinian dispute, even though it did not attend the sessions.

 

While some states, like Canada and Britain, argued the court should not provide an advisory decision, the majority of participating states petitioned the court to declare the occupation illegal.

 

The largest supporter of Israel, the United States, asked the court to restrict its advisory judgment and refrain from directing Israel’s military to withdraw completely from the Palestinian areas. A separation barrier erected by Israel around the majority of the West Bank was deemed “contrary to international law” by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in 2004, which also declared that Israeli settlements had been constructed illegally. Israel disregarded the decision.