Hague
\nInternational Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Hague will open a week of hearings on the legal consequences of Israel\u2019s occupation of Palestinian territories today.
\nPalestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki will speak first in the legal proceedings.
\nMeanwhile, at least 127 Palestinians have been martyred in Israeli strikes on Gaza in the past 24 hours.
\nThe week-long proceedings, which begin at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague on Monday, come as Israel continues its devastating war on Gaza.
\nThe assault has killed more than 29,000 Palestinians since October 7.
\nThe case is separate from the genocide complaint South Africa filed at the ICJ against Israel for its alleged violations in the ongoing war.
\nIt focuses instead on Israel\u2019s occupation of the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem since 1967.
\nThe Palestinians seek all three areas for an independent state.
\nPalestinian representatives, who speak first on Monday, will argue that the Israeli occupation is illegal because it has violated three key tenets of international law, the Palestinian legal team told reporters on Wednesday.
\nThey say Israel has violated the prohibition on territorial conquest by annexing large swathes of occupied land, violated Palestinians\u2019 right to self-determination and imposed a system of racial discrimination and apartheid.
\n\u201cWe want to hear new words from the court,\u201d said Omar Awadallah, the head of the UN organizations department in the Palestinian Foreign Ministry. \u201cThey\u2019ve had to consider the word genocide in the South Africa case,\u201d he said, referring to the separate case before the court. \u201cNow we want them to consider apartheid.\u201d
\nAwadallah said that an advisory opinion from the court \u201cwill give us many tools, using peaceful international law methods and tools, to confront the illegalities of the occupation\u201d. The court will likely take months to make a ruling. After the Palestinians present their arguments, an unprecedented 51 countries and three organisations \u2013 the League of Arab States, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the African Union \u2013 will address the judges in the wood-panelled Great Hall of Justice.
\nIsrael will not present an oral argument, although it has sent written observations.
\nThe case arrived at the court after the UN General Assembly (UNGA) voted by a wide margin in December 2022 to ask the 15-judge panel for a non-binding advisory opinion on the Israeli occupation.
\nThe request was promoted by Palestinians and opposed vehemently by Israel, which said any potential decision from the court would be \u201ccompletely illegitimate\u201d.
\nIsrael captured the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza in 1967 during a war with Egypt, Jordan and Syria.
\nIsrael withdrew from Gaza in 2005 but still controls the enclave\u2019s borders.
\nIn the occupied West Bank, it has built 146 settlements, according to the watchdog group Peace Now, which are home to more than 500,000 Jewish settlers. The West Bank settler population has grown by more than 15 percent in the last five years, according to a pro-settler group.
\nIsrael also has annexed East Jerusalem and considers the entire city to be its capital. An additional 200,000 Israelis live in settlements built in East Jerusalem, which Israel considers to be neighbourhoods of its capital. Palestinian residents of the city face systematic discrimination, making it difficult for them to build new homes or expand existing ones.
\nThe international community overwhelmingly considers the settlements to be illegal. Israel\u2019s annexation of East Jerusalem, home to the city\u2019s most sensitive holy sites, is not internationally recognised.
\nThe case marks the second time the UNGA has asked the ICJ, also known as the World Court, for an advisory opinion related to the occupied Palestinian territory. In July 2004, the court found that Israel\u2019s separation wall in the West Bank violated international law and should be dismantled, though it still stands to this day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Hague International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Hague will open a week of hearings on the legal consequences of Israel\u2019s occupation of Palestinian territories today. Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki will speak first in the legal proceedings. Meanwhile, at least 127 Palestinians have been martyred in Israeli strikes on Gaza in the past 24 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":385030,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-388189","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n