The Hague, February 18 (EFE).- The International Court of Justice (ICJ), the highest court of the United Nations, will begin public hearings this Monday, with the testimony of several countries, to issue an advisory opinion on “the legal consequences arising from Israel’s policies and practices in the occupied Palestinian territory.
The court, located in the Peace Palace in The Hague, has six days of hearings scheduled, and will begin by first hearing the arguments of the State of Palestine on Monday morning, which will be followed in the coming days by more than 50 countries. , among them the Netherlands, South Africa, Spain, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, the United States and Russia, which have expressed their intention to participate in the oral procedure before the Court.
Three international organizations will also intervene: the Arab League, the African Union and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
The hearings will focus on arguments over “the legal consequences arising from Israel’s policies and practices in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem” and seek to determine a non-binding legal opinion of the Israeli occupation of Palestine.
The ICJ will analyze only the circumstances of the occupation, since the request came before the current escalation of violence in the region, when on October 7, militias of the Islamist group Hamas, which has ruled the Gaza Strip since 2007, entered in Israel, where they also launched thousands of rockets, killing 1,200 people and kidnapping another 240.
In response, Israel launched a forceful military response, which has killed more than 28,000 civilians and left the Strip devastated, with 1.9 million displaced in a territory inhabited by 2.3 million people.
The ocupation
In December 2022, the UN General Assembly requested an advisory opinion from the ICJ based on the rules and principles of, among others, the UN Charter, international humanitarian law, human rights law and resolutions of the Security Council of the ONU.
A total of 87 countries supported this petition to the ICJ, while 26 other states, including Israel and the United States, voted against it.
“What are the legal consequences arising from Israel’s continued violation of the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, from its prolonged occupation, settlement and annexation of the occupied Palestinian territory since 1967, including measures aimed at altering the demographic composition, character and status of the Holy City of Jerusalem, and its adoption of related discriminatory laws and measures?” the Assembly asked.
Furthermore, it was questioned: “How do Israel’s policies and practices (…) affect the legal status of the occupation, and what are the legal consequences that arise from that status for all States and the United Nations?”
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The United Nations, the 193 countries recognized by the UN, and Palestine, which has status only as an “observer State”, have been able to present their own information and arguments on this case until July 25, and the ICJ received 57 briefs within that period. , he pointed.
The borders of 1967
Israel took control of the West Bank and East Jerusalem in the 1967 Six-Day War, and has maintained a military occupation of this Palestinian territory ever since.
Palestinians defend their right to self-determination, independence and the return of their refugees, while Jewish settlements in the West Bank grow, considered illegal under international law, and accompanied by harassment, attacks and displacement of Palestinian inhabitants, often with the connivance of Israeli forces.
The court last issued an advisory opinion on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in 2004, when the General Assembly asked it to rule on the legality of the separation wall.
The ICJ then considered that the construction of the wall and its associated regime were “contrary” to international law and “hinder the freedom of movement of the inhabitants of the territory (…), as well as the exercise of their right to work, health, to education and an adequate standard of living.”
In addition, he called for “immediately ending the violation of their international obligations” and respecting the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, and urged all Member States “not to recognize the illegal situation resulting from the construction of the wall and not provide help or assistance to maintain the situation created.”
Imane Rachidi
By: EFE
The post The UN Court analyzes the legal consequences of the Israeli occupation of Palestine appeared first on Minuto30.
2024-02-18 09:37:42
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