The International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled on July 19 that Israel's occupation and settlement of Palestinian territory breach international law. The decision came after the UN General Assembly requested an advisory opinion from the body on Israel's practices in the occupied territories. The ruling held that Israel's practices violate a number of international agreements including the Hague Convention of 1907, the Fourth Geneva Convention, the International Covenant on Civil & Political Rights, and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.

The tribunal especially took issue with Israel's policy of settling Israeli citizens in the West Bank, ruling that the establishment of Israeli settlements on occupied territory, and the legalization of "illegal outposts" (settlements established against Israeli law) breach the Fourth Geneva Convention. Article 49 of the convention states: "The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies."

The court also ruled that Israel's expoitation of the natural resources of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, extension of Israeli law into the Territory, forced displacement of the Palestinian population in some areas, separation of settler and Palestinian communities, and failure to punish extremist settlers who attack Palestinians, all violate the country's international obligations.

Additionally, the court held that Israel's integration of East and West Jerusalem, the mention of settlements in the country's Basic Law, and the extension of Israeli law into the settlements amount to de facto "annexation of large parts of the Occupied Palestinian Territory." This, along with Israel's "violation of the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination," led the ICJ to conclude that Israel's presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is unlawful.

As a result, the court imposed obligations on Israel to end its occupation of Palestinian territory "as rapidly as possible," to immediately cease its settlement activity, to repeal all discriminatory legislation against Palestinians, and to "provide full reparation" to those affected by its illegal acts. It also obligated other UN member states not to recognize Israel's occupation as legal.

Eleven of the court's 15 judges agreed with all findings, while court vice president Julia Sebutinde was the only judge to pen a dissent. Sebutinde aligned with Israel's argument that the questions posed by the General Assembly's request for an advisory opinion "present a clear distortion of the history and present reality of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict." 

While the Palestinian Foreign Ministry lauded the ICJ's opinion as a "watershed moment for Palestine and the international law-based order," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attacked the court’s decision:

The Jewish people are not occupiers in their own land, including in our eternal capital Jerusalem nor in Judea and Samaria, our historical homeland. No absurd opinion in the Hague can deny this historical truth or the legal right of Israelis to live in their own communities in our ancestral home.

The opinion is separate from the measures the ICJ has directed Israel to implement in a genocide case filed against the country by South Africa regarding Israel's ongoing offensive in the Gaza Strip.

Although ICJ decisions are formally binding on UN member states, the court depends on the UN Security Council to enforce its decisions.

From Jurist, Juy 19. Used with permission.