The UN’s International Court of Justice (ICJ) has issued a sweeping advisory opinion calling on Israel to end its occupation of Palestinian territories “as rapidly as possible” and to provide full reparations for its “internationally wrongful acts.” The court’s historic, though non-binding, opinion highlights multiple violations of international law by Israel, including actions that amount to apartheid.
The ruling will likely concern Israel’s allies, as the court stated that other states are obligated not to recognize the occupation as lawful or provide support for it.
President of the ICJ, Nawaf Salam, emphasized, “The court considers that the violations by Israel of the prohibition of the acquisition of territory by force and of the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination have a direct impact on the legality of the continued presence of Israel, as an occupying power, in the occupied Palestinian territory.” He added that Israel’s actions undermine fundamental principles of international law, rendering its presence unlawful.
The Palestinian presidency welcomed the ruling as “historic” and a “victory for justice,” urging Israel to comply with it. Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki called it a “watershed moment.”
In contrast, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office rejected the ruling, stating, “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 occupied West Bank].” They insisted that no decision from The Hague could alter this historical truth or question the legality of Israeli settlements across the region.
The ICJ’s advisory opinion, requested by the UN General Assembly in 2022, precedes the ongoing war in Gaza (found to be constituting a plausible genocide by the same institution) and is not directly linked to it, yet it adds pressure on Israel and its allies to end military operations, which have reportedly resulted in over 38,000 Palestinian deaths by July, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.