UN World Court / ICJ rules Israel’s occupation and settlements illegal

Wais Islam

The International Court of Justice (ICJ), also known as the UN ‘World Court’, in a groundbreaking ruling on Friday, 19th July, stated that Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories is illegal. The landmark ruling could have serious consequences for Israel over its occupation of the Gaza Strip, East Jerusalem and the West Bank where over 700,000 settlers occupy Palestinian land illegally against international law.

Settler violence is growing fast against unarmed Palestinians including the elderly, women and children. ICJ’s ruling states that all settlement and occupation activity should stop and adds immense political weight to the legal status of the occupation since the 1967 Middle East war. The issue has been examined by ICJ thanks to the UN General Assembly’s request since early 2023. 

ICJ President Nawaf Salam said: “Israel’s… continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is illegal.” He added: “The State of Israel is under the obligation to bring an end to its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory as rapidly as possible.” He also said Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in 2005 did not end Israel’s occupation there as it continues to exercise effective control over it (where 2.2M Palestinians have been forcibly displaced, with 40,000-50,000 killed (over 186,000 according to prestigious medical journal Lancet) and nearly 100,000 civilians severely injured by Israel’s illegal war since October last year.

ICJ ruled that Israel should evacuate all of its settlers from the West Bank and East Jerusalem. It should also arrange financial reparations for damages caused by the occupation, to Palestinians. Israel’s “policies and practices amount to annexation of large parts of the Occupied Palestinian Territory”, against international law, stressing that Israel was “not entitled to sovereignty” over any part of the occupied territories. Israel, therefore, cannot claim sovereignty over the whole of Jerusalem, the eastern half of which it captured in the 1967 war. 

Israeli restrictions in the occupied territories constituted “systemic discrimination based on, inter alia, race, religion or ethnic origin” against Palestinians. ICJ also ruled that Israel had illegally exploited the Palestinians’ natural resources and violated their right to self-determination. 

Importantly, the World Court also advised states to avoid any actions, including the provision of aid or assistance, that would maintain the current situation. The court’s findings will be referred to the UN General Assembly, with the possible option of adopting a resolution. 

Wais Islam: Former Independent Parliamentary Candidate for Holborn and St Pancras (2024). Ex-councillor and Olympics Ambassador and chairman of the Pensions and Investments Committee, Tower Hamlets (2006-2010)