The United Nations' highest court said on July 19 that Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories and settlements there are illegal and should be withdrawn as soon as possible, in its strongest findings to date on the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
Delivering the court's findings, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) President Nawaf Salam said it had found that “Israel's… continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is illegal.”
“The State of Israel is under the obligation to bring an end to its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory as rapidly as possible,” he said.
He said Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in 2005 did not bring Israel's occupation of that area to an end because it still exercises effective control over it.
The court also said Israel should evacuate all of its settlers from the West Bank and East Jerusalem and pay reparations to Palestinians for damages caused by the occupation.
The ICJ said Israel's “policies and practices amount to annexation of large parts of the Occupied Palestinian Territory”, which it said was against international law, adding that Israel was "not entitled to sovereignty" over any part of the occupied territories.
Among its other far-reaching conclusions, the court said Israeli restrictions on Palestinians in the occupied territories constituted "systemic discrimination based on, inter alia, race, religion or ethnic origin". It also said Israel had illegally exploited the Palestinians' natural resources and violated their right to self-determination.
The court also advised states to avoid any actions, including providing aid or assistance, that would maintain the current situation.
The ICJ, based at The Hague in the Netherlands, has been examining the issue since the beginning of last year, at the request of the UN General Assembly.
Meanwhile, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu swiftly issued a blunt statement rejecting what the court had determined.
"The Jewish people are not occupiers in their own land – not in our eternal capital Jerusalem, nor in our ancestral heritage of Judea and Samaria" (the West Bank), Netanyahu said in a statement, according to the BBC.
"No decision of lies in The Hague will distort this historical truth, and similarly, the legality of Israeli settlements in all parts of our homeland cannot be disputed," Israel’s prime minister stated.
The advisory opinion by judges at the International Court of Justice, known as the World Court, was not binding but carries weight under international law and may weaken support for Israel.
Al Jazeera reports that several countries call on international community to pressure Israel in wake of ‘watershed’ opinion by top UN court.
International reaction has reportedly poured in since a ruling by the top United Nations court that Israel’s continued presence in the occupied Palestinian territory is unlawful and should swiftly be brought to an end.
Palestinian officials have hailed the International Court of Justice ruling as a “watershed moment” in their decades-long fight for justice.
