International Court of Justice, ICJ, on Monday, began hearing historic oral arguments over the Israeli occupation of territory claimed by Palestinians.
Gatekeepers News reports that the decades-old debate was brought before a panel of international judges as the region remains locked in an unprecedented war.
Fifty-two countries will participate in arguments at ICJ over the six-day hearing – more than any other case heard by the court in its history.
The 15 judges on the Hague will be asked to consider, as the UN General Assembly wrote, “the legal consequences arising from the ongoing violation by Israel of the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, from its prolonged occupation, settlement and annexation of the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967.”
The court, established after World War II as a way for countries to resolve disputes without conflict, will likely take months to issue a ruling. The Hague opinion will be advisory, not binding.
Monday’s case is different from the proceedings held in January over an accusation from South Africa that Israel was committing genocide in its war against Hamas following the October 7 attacks.
That court had ordered Israel to prevent genocide against Palestinians in Gaza while stopping short of calling for Israel to suspend its military campaign, as South Africa had requested.
At the time, Israel had already indicated it would not accept the ICJ’s ruling, with
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office had said it would not accept the ICJ’s ruling, writing on X that “nobody will stop us – not The Hague, not the axis of evil and not anybody else.”
Monday’s case concerning the West Bank began with remarks from Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki.
Al-Maliki said, “Successive Israeli governments have given the Palestinian people only three options: displacement, subjugation or death.
“But our people are here to stay, they have a right to live in freedom and dignity in their ancestral land. They will not forsake their rights.”
He called for an end to “double standards in handling the Palestinian issue,” advocating for the ICJ to recognize the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination.
Al-Maliki on Monday said, “The right to self-determination does not lapse by statute of limitations and is non-negotiable, and the Israeli occupation must end without conditions.
“It is time to put an end to the double standards that have kept our people captive for too long. International law has to be applied to all states.”
However, a spokesman for the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lior Haiat criticized the Palestinian Authority for what he called “distorting reality and avoiding direct negotiations” by seeking a unilateral legal ruling from the ICJ.
Haiat said, “By hurling false accusations and creating a fundamentally distorted reality, the Palestinian Authority is trying to turn a conflict that should be resolved through direct negotiations and without external impositions into a one-sided and improper legal process designed to adopt an extremist and distorted narrative.”
He condemned the Palestinian leadership for allegedly ignoring acts of terrorism, inciting antisemitism, and misrepresenting the conflict’s legal framework, urging a return to direct negotiations to resolve the conflict.
The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) rejected the ICJ’s legitimacy to discuss the “legality of the occupation,” viewing it as an attack on Israel’s right to defend itself against existential threats.
In a written statement, the PMO emphasized its determination to counteract what it perceives as an attempt by the Palestinians to bypass negotiations.
The office wrote, “Israel does not recognize the legitimacy of the discussion at the International Court of Justice in The Hague regarding the ‘legality of the occupation’ – a move designed to harm Israel’s right to defend itself against existential threats.”
Representatives from the various countries participating in the case will deliver their remarks starting today – Tuesday.
Although Israel is not scheduled to speak, it has made a written submission.
Israel captured the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza in the 1967 Six-Day War. It later unilaterally annexed East Jerusalem and withdrew its troops and settlers from Gaza, though it has for years exerted control on the enclave through a near-total blockade.
Today, Israel has full administrative and security control over 60% of the West Bank area while the PA has nominal control over Palestinian population centers.
