The war between Israel and Hamas has continued since October 7 (file photo)
Foreign Minister Riyad Maliki told the United Nations’ top court on Monday that Palestinians were suffering “colonialism and apartheid” under Israeli rule, urging the judges to order an immediate and unconditional end to Israel’s occupation.
“Palestinians endured colonialism and apartheid… Some people are angry at these words. They should be angry at the reality of what we suffered,” Maliki told the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
The International Court of Justice has been holding hearings all week on the legal implications of Israel’s occupation since 1967, with an unprecedented 52 countries, including the United States and Russia, expected to give evidence.
Israel will not participate in the hearing, but submitted written submissions dated July 24, 2023, in which it urged the court to deny the request for comments.
Speaking at the Peace Palace in The Hague, home to the International Court of Justice, the minister called on judges to declare the occupation illegal and order an “immediate, complete and unconditional” end to it.
“Justice delayed is justice denied, and the Palestinian people have been denied justice for too long,” he said.
“It’s time to end the double standards that have shackled our people for so long.”
Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian UN envoy, concluded by calling for “a future in which Palestinian children are treated as children, not as a demographic threat.”
‘Impunity and inaction’
In December 2022, the United Nations General Assembly asked the International Court of Justice to provide a non-binding “advisory opinion” on “the legal consequences of Israel’s policies and practices in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem.”
While any ICJ opinion is non-binding, it comes as Israel comes under international legal pressure over the Gaza war sparked by a brutal Hamas attack on October 7.
The hearing is separate from a high-profile case brought by South Africa accusing Israel of committing genocide in its current Gaza offensive.
However, Maliki blamed “the ongoing genocide in Gaza as the result of decades of impunity and inaction.”
“Ending impunity in Israel is a moral, political and legal imperative,” he said.
In January, the International Court of Justice ruled in the case that Israel must do everything it can to prevent genocide and allow humanitarian aid into Gaza rather than order a ceasefire.
“Long term occupation”
The UN General Assembly has asked the ICJ to consider two issues.
First, the court should examine the legal consequences of “Israel’s continued violation of the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination.”
This involves “the long-term occupation, settlement and annexation of Palestinian territory occupied since 1967” and “measures aimed at changing the demographic composition, character and status of the holy city of Jerusalem”.
In June 1967, Israel crushed some of its Arab neighbors in a six-day war, seizing the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, from Jordan, the Golan Heights from Syria, and the Gaza Strip from Egypt. Sinai Peninsula.
Subsequently, Israel began to settle 70,000 square kilometers (27,000 square miles) of occupied Arab territory. The United Nations subsequently declared the occupation of Palestinian territory illegal. Cairo regained control of the Sinai Peninsula under a 1979 peace agreement with Israel.
The ICJ was also asked to investigate the consequences of Israel’s “relevant discriminatory legislation and measures”.
Second, the ICJ should make recommendations on how Israel’s conduct “affects the legal status of the occupation” and what consequences it has for the United Nations and other countries.
Israel said these “biased” and “slanted” questions “clearly distort the history and reality of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement that the conflict should be resolved through negotiations. The statement said the case, which opened on Monday, “is aimed at undermining Israel’s right to defend itself against existential threats.”
Foreign Ministry spokesman Lior Haiat accused the Palestinian leadership in a message on the Opportunities for Conflict Resolution”.
The court made an “urgent” ruling
The court may issue an “urgent” ruling on the matter before the end of this year.
Dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters demonstrated outside the court, waving flags and banners.
“I really hope justice prevails,” organizer Nadia Slimi, 27, told AFP.
She added: “I sincerely hope that all concerted efforts to pressure Israel for more humane policies will ultimately lead to some measures to liberate the Palestinian people.”
The ICJ’s rulings on disputes between states and its judgments are binding, although it has few means of enforcing these rulings.
However, in this case, although most advisory opinions are actually implemented, the opinions expressed will not be binding.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) said the advisory opinion “carries enormous moral and legal authority” and could eventually be enshrined in international law.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
