International Court of Justice begins hearings on the legal consequences of Israel’s occupation of Palestine

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) this Monday began hearings on a petition filed in December 2022 by the United Nations General Assembly regarding its opinion on “legal consequences” of Israeli policies in the occupied Palestinian territories, in which the Israeli government will not participate.

The hearings began with a statement from the chairman of the court Lebanese Nawaf Salamabout the countries and international organizations that will appear on them, after which the Palestinian Foreign Minister, Riad al-Maliki took the floor to present the case.

Al Maliki emphasized that These are “historical procedures” and stressed that its arrival comes at a time when “2.3 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, half of them children, are surrounded and bombed, dying and injured, starving and displaced.”

“More than 3.5 million Palestinians in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, are subject to the colonization of their territory and the racist violence that contributes to it,” he noted, before clarifying that “The 1.7 million Palestinians in Israel are treated as second-class citizens. (…) on the land of their ancestors,” he said. In addition, he emphasized that “seven million Palestinian refugees continue to be denied the right to return to their lands and their homes.”

“I stand before you at a time when the entire Palestinian people are still deprived of their basic rights and their very existence. For more than a century, The Palestinians’ right to self-determination has been denied and violated“,” he said, before emphasizing that “Palestine was not a country without a people, since the land had political, cultural, social and religious life.”

Thus, he also referred to the Balfour Declaration (1917) and argued that “denied the existence (of Palestinians) as a people and their rights as a nation, paving the way for their dehumanization and mass expulsion from their homeland decades later,” while recalling that the UN Charter includes the right of peoples to self-determination.

“For decades, Palestinians have been denied this right, who suffered from colonialism and apartheid. “Those who are outraged by the use of these words should be outraged by the reality in which we live,” Al Maliki said, saying that “millions of people, generation after generation,” are suffering from this situation.

In this regard, he noted that “the genocide taking place in the Gaza Strip is “the result of decades of impunity and inaction” and added that “ending impunity in Israel is a moral, political and loyalty imperative.” “Successive Israeli governments gave Palestinians three options: displacement, enslavement or death.”

“There are options: ethnic cleansing, apartheid or genocide, but our people are here to stay. You have the right to live freely and with dignity in the land of your ancestors. He will not give up his rights. “I beg you not to forget the Palestinian people and that our people suffer every day for their survival,” he explained.

Accuses Israel of violating the ruling of the International Court of Justice

Al Maliki also recalled the recent decision of the International Court of Justice requiring Israel take “all possible measures” to protect the people of Gaza as part of an offensive against the enclave initiated following the October 7 terrorist attacks by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas).

So he said that Israel ‘continues to violate this order with impunity’ and reiterated that “the only solution consistent with international law is an immediate and unconditional end to this illegal occupation.”

The minister also stressed that the plan for Palestinian participation in 1947 was approved “without the approval of the Palestinian population” and noted that it caused the “Nakba” – an Arabic term meaning “catastrophe” and referring to the estimated 700,000 people who fled their homes after the creation of the State of Israel in 1948 – and “the denial of rights and discrimination that continues.” up to this day”.

Al Maliki confirmed Palestine’s ‘unwavering commitment’ to international law and argued that “justice delayed is justice denied,” before repeating that “the Palestinian people have been denied justice for too long” and criticizing the “double standards” that exist in this case.

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“We strive for peace, can only be rooted in justice.” said Al-Maliki, who asked the court to order a “complete” and “unconditional” end to the Israeli occupation and to act with the “wisdom” and “justice” that “the world expects and needs from them” as part of its “sacred function.”

This is the second time that the International Court of Justice, at the request of the United Nations General Assembly, has had to express your opinion on the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories. The first time was in 2004, when he ruled that the separation wall built by Israel in the occupied West Bank violated international law and called for its demolition, although it still stands.

Amnesty International calls for an end to the occupation

For her part, the secretary general of the non-governmental organization Amnesty International, Agnès Callamard, said that “the world must recognize that Ending Israel’s illegal occupation is a must stop human rights violations in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.”

“The Israeli occupation of Palestine is the longest and one of the deadliest military occupations in the world. For decades it has been characteristic of him “widespread and systematic violations of Palestinian human rights”cry.

“The occupation also allowed and strengthened the apartheid system imposed by Israel on the Palestinians” He explained before clarifying that “over the years, the military occupation has become a permanent occupation, which is a flagrant violation of international law.”

Callamard emphasized that “the conflict unleashed in the occupied Gaza Strip, where, as the International Court of Justice has declared, there is a real and imminent risk of genocide, has drawn attention to the catastrophic consequences of allowing Israeli international crimes to occur in the occupied Palestinian territories. “They will continue for so long with impunity.”

On the other hand, he noted that “All states must reconsider their relations with Israel ensure that they do not contribute to the maintenance of the occupation or the apartheid system” and conveyed to European Union (EU) foreign ministers meeting today in Brussels that there is a “clear and united call for an end to the Israeli occupation “It has never been more relevant.”

“For 56 years Palestinians were trapped and oppressed under brutal Israeli occupation, subject to systematic discrimination. Every aspect of their daily lives is disrupted and controlled by Israeli authorities, who impose restrictions on their rights to move, earn a living, pursue educational and professional aspirations and enjoy a decent quality of life, as well as deny them access to their lands and natural resources,” he said. .

“As an occupying power, Israel has an obligation ensure the protection and well-being of all who live in the territory it controls,” he said. “Israel cites the need to maintain security as the reason for its brutal policies, but security can never justify apartheid, illegal annexations and settlements or war crimes against protected populations,” he said.

(according to information from Europe Press)