The court did not take lightly Israel’s policies in occupied Palestinian territory.
“The court reaffirms that the Israeli settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, and the regime associated with them, have been established and are being maintained in violation of international law,” the court said responding to questions by the UN.
“The sustained abuse by Israel of its position as an occupying power, through annexation and an assertion of permanent control over the occupied Palestinian territory and continued frustration of the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, violates fundamental principles of international law and renders Israel’s presence in the occupied Palestinian territory unlawful.
“The effects of these policies and practices include Israel’s annexation of parts of the occupied Palestinian territory, the fragmentation of this territory, undermining its integrity, the deprivation of the Palestinian people of the enjoyment of the natural resources of the territory and its impairment of the Palestinian people’s right to pursue its economic, social and cultural development. resources of the territory and its impairment of the Palestinian people’s right to pursue its economic, social and cultural development,” the ICJ said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was not happy about the court’s opinion.
“The Jewish people are not occupiers in their own land, including in our eternal capital Jerusalem nor in Judea and Samaria, our historical homeland. No absurd opinion in The Hague can deny this historical truth or the legal right of Israelis to live in their own communities in our ancestral home,” he said.
International relations and co-operation minister Ronald Lamola, however, was satisfied by the findings.
“The ICJ affirms South Africa’s long-standing position that the occupation by Israel of Palestinian territory remains unlawful under international law. The international community must act to bring an immediate end to the occupation and the gross violations of international humanitarian and human rights law being perpetrated by Israel against the Palestinian people,” he said.
“There is now an additional legal obligation for all states to end complicity in Israel’s illegal actions and to act to ensure respect for international law.”
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