Historic decision expected from the ICJ: What are the legal consequences of the occupation of the Palestinian Territories?

On Friday, 19 July 2024, the International Court of Justice will deliver its Advisory Opinion on the Legal Consequences Arising from the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including East Jerusalem.

An unprecedented case, in which 52 countries were called to testify.

On December 31, 2022, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution requesting an “advisory opinion” from the ICJ on the “legal consequences arising from the policies and practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem.”

Most speakers at hearings in February called for Israel to end the occupation that followed the Six-Day War.

Indeed, the United Nations considers illegal the occupation of some 70,000 square kilometers of Arab territory seized by Israel in the Six-Day War in 1967.

The UN assembly therefore asked the court to rule on the “legal consequences” of what the resolution calls “Israel’s continuing violation of the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination.”

The ICJ is also invited to examine the consequences of what the UN resolution describes as “the adoption by Israel of discriminatory laws and measures”.

This case comes as the expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank reaches new heights, as we report in this article from July 4, 2024.

Since October 7, Palestinians living in the West Bank have been exposed to numerous acts of violence from both settlers and the Israeli army.

According to the latest OCHA report, 553 Palestinians, including 131 children, have been killed in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Of these, 522 were killed by Israeli forces, ten by Israeli settlers and seven were not identified as Israeli soldiers or settlers.

In addition, more than 5,420 Palestinians were injured during the same period, including approximately 830 children. More than a third of these injuries were caused by live ammunition.

At ICJ hearings in February, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Al-Maliki said his people were suffering “colonialism and apartheid” and asked judges to call for an end to the Israeli occupation.

“Palestinians suffer both colonialism and apartheid,” he said, “some are outraged by these words but they should be outraged by the reality that is ours,” before asking the Court to declare the occupation illegal and to order an end to it “immediately, totally and unconditionally.”

“Justice delayed is justice denied and the Palestinian people are being denied justice. (…) It is time to end the double standards that the Palestinian people have suffered for too long.”

While the advisory opinion the court will issue is not binding, and although Israel has ignored such opinions in the past, the ICJ’s decision next week could add political pressure to its devastating nine-month war against the Palestinian militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

This case of course echoes the case brought by South Africa to the International Court of Justice, accusing Israel of committing genocidal acts in Gaza.

In January, the court ruled that there was a “risk of genocide” and called on Israel to “do everything in its power to prevent any act of genocide and to allow the entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip.”

In May, it called on Israel to “immediately” stop its military aggression in Rafah. This case has been joined by many countries and has increased legal pressure on Israel, but observers regret that the Court has not mentioned a ceasefire.

According to Riad Al-Maliki, “the ongoing genocide in Gaza is the result of decades of impunity and inaction.” “Ending Israel’s impunity is a moral, political and legal imperative,” he proclaimed.