Published By: Sheen Kachroo
Last Updated: February 21, 2024, 20:49 IST
The court docket will most likely ship its opinion earlier than the top of the yr, however it’s not binding on anybody. (Image: Reuters)
The International Court of Justice is holding per week of hearings after a request from the United Nations, with an unprecedented 52 nations giving their views on Israel’s occupation
The United States advised the UN’s high court docket on Wednesday that Israel shouldn’t be legally compelled to withdraw from occupied Palestinian territory with out safety ensures.
The International Court of Justice is holding per week of hearings after a request from the United Nations, with an unprecedented 52 nations giving their views on Israel’s occupation.
Most audio system have demanded that Israel finish its occupation, which got here after a six-day Arab-Israeli battle in 1967, however Washington got here to its ally’s defence on the court docket.
“The court should not find that Israel is legally obligated to immediately and unconditionally withdraw from occupied territory,” stated Richard Visek, authorized advisor on the US State Department.
“Any movement towards Israel withdrawal from the West Bank and Gaza requires consideration of Israel’s very real security needs,” he argued.
“We were all reminded of those security needs on October 7,” he stated, referring to the Hamas assaults that sparked the present battle.
The UN has requested the ICJ handy down an “advisory opinion” on the “legal consequences arising from the policies and practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem”.
The court docket will most likely ship its opinion earlier than the top of the yr, however it’s not binding on anybody.
Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki advised reporters after the US assertion: “I expected much more. I didn’t hear anything new.”
Washington has been insisting that the Israel-Palestinian battle be addressed in “other fora and not here”, Al-Maliki stated.
“Well, we tried other fora for the last 75 years and we confronted the US veto and the US hegemony over decision-making processes within the UN system,” he stated.
“And that’s why we came to the ICJ.”
No peace
Israel just isn’t participating within the oral hearings, however submitted a written contribution wherein it described the questions the court docket had been requested as “prejudicial” and “tendentious”.
The October 7 assaults and the continuing violence within the Gaza Strip “reinforce the United States’ resolve to urgently achieve a final peace”, Visek stated.
Also talking Wednesday, the consultant from Egypt, which has performed a key function in talks between Israel and the Palestinians, stated the occupation was “a continued violation of international law”.
“The consequences of Israel’s prolonged occupation are clear and there can be no peace, no stability, no prosperity without upholding the rule of law,” overseas ministry authorized advisor Jasmine Moussa stated.
The hearings started Monday with three hours of testimony from Palestinian officers, who accused the Israeli occupiers of working a system of “colonialism and apartheid”.
Al-Maliki had urged the judges to name for an finish to the occupation “immediately, totally and unconditionally”.
South Africa’s ambassador to the Netherlands advised the court docket that Israel’s insurance policies had been “more extreme” than the apartheid black South Africans suffered earlier than 1994.
The case is separate from a high-profile case introduced by Pretoria in opposition to Israel for alleged genocide throughout its present offensive in Gaza.
In that case, the ICJ dominated that Israel ought to do all the things in its energy to stop genocidal acts in Gaza and permit in humanitarian support.
