THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The United Nations’ top court has said that Israel’s settlement policy in the West Bank and East Jerusalem violates international law. The court issued a non-binding advisory opinion on the legality of Israel’s 57-year occupation of land earmarked for a Palestinian state, a ruling that could have more influence on international opinion than on Israeli policy.
International Court of Justice President Nawaf Salam is expected to take about an hour to read out the full opinion of the panel, which consists of 15 judges from around the world.
In part of the judgment, he said the panel had found that “the transfer by Israel of settlers to the West Bank and Jerusalem, as well as Israel’s maintenance of their presence, violates Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention.” The court also noted with “grave concern” that Israel’s settlement policy has expanded.
The court also found that Israel’s use of natural resources was “contrary” to its obligations under international law as an occupying power.
Friday’s hearing comes against the backdrop of Israel’s devastating 10-month military assault on Gaza, which was triggered by Hamas-led attacks in southern Israel. In a separate case, the International Court of Justice is considering a South African claim that Israel’s campaign in Gaza amounts to genocidea claim that Israel vehemently denies.
Israel captured the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip in the 1967 Middle East war. The Palestinians want an independent state in all three areas.
Israel considers the West Bank to be disputed territory, the future of which must be decided in negotiations, and has relocated populations there in settlements to tighten its grip. It annexed East Jerusalem in a move not recognized internationally, while withdrawing from Gaza in 2005 but maintaining a blockade on the area after Hamas seized power in 2007. The international community generally considers all three areas occupied.
Bee hearings in FebruaryThen-Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki accused Israel of apartheid and urged the United Nations Supreme Court to declare that Israel’s occupation of the territory the Palestinians are demanding is illegal and must end immediately and unconditionally if any hope for a two-state future is to remain.
Israel, which normally views the United Nations and international tribunals as unfair and biased, did not send a legal team to the hearings. But it filed written submissions saying the questions put to the court were biased and “fail to recognize Israel’s right and obligation to protect its citizens,” did not address Israeli security concerns or recognize Israeli-Palestinian agreements to negotiate issues including “the permanent status of the territory, security arrangements, settlements and borders.”
The Palestinians presented their arguments in February, along with 49 other countries and three international organizations.
Erwin van Veen, a senior researcher at think tank Clingendael in The Hague, said that if the court finds that Israeli policies in the West Bank and East Jerusalem violate international law, it would likely not lead to a change in Israeli policies, but it would “further isolate Israel internationally, at least from a legal point of view.”
He said such a ruling “would worsen the case for occupation. It removes any kind of legal, political, philosophical basis for the Israeli expansion project.”
It would also strengthen the position of “those who oppose it” – such as the Palestinian-led grassroots movement advocating boycotts, divestment and sanctions against Israel.
He said it could also increase the number of countries recognizing the State of Palestine, particularly in the Western world, following the recent example of Spain, Norway and Ireland.”
This is not the first time that the ICJ has been asked to give a legal opinion on Israeli policy. Twenty years ago, the court ruled that Israel West Bank Separation Barrier was “contrary to international law.” Israel boycotted these procedures, claiming they were politically motivated.
Israel says the barrier is a security measure. Palestinians say the construction amounts to a massive land grab because it often encroaches on the West Bank.
The UN General Assembly voted by a large majority in December 2022 to ask the world court for an advisory opinion. Israel strongly opposed the request filed by the Palestinians. Fifty countries abstained from the vote.
Israel has built more than 100 settlements, according to the anti-settlement monitoring group Peace Now. The settler population in the West Bank has grown by more than 15 percent in the past five years to more than 500,000 Israelis, according to a pro-settler group.
Israel has also annexed East Jerusalem and considers the entire city its capital. Another 200,000 Israelis live in settlements built in East Jerusalem that Israel considers neighborhoods of its capital. Palestinian residents of the city are systematically discriminated against, making it difficult for them to build new homes or expand existing ones.
The international community considers all settlements illegal or an obstacle to peace because they are built on land that the Palestinians want to build for their state.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s hardline government is dominated by settlers and their political supporters. Netanyahu has dismissed his finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, a former settler leader, unprecedented authority on settlement policy. Smotrich has used this position to consolidate Israel’s control over the West Bank by pushing through plans to build more settlements and legalize outposts.
Authorities recently approved the allocation of 12.7 square kilometers (nearly 5 square miles) of land in the Jordan Valley, a strategic piece of land deep in the West Bank, according to a copy of the order obtained by The Associated Press. Data from Peace Now, the tracking group, indicates it was the largest single allocation approved since the 1993 Oslo Accords that launched the peace process.
