The ICJ Advisory Opinion on the Occupation

In December 2022 the General Assembly asked the International Court of Justice a broader question than the one it had put in 2003. Not the legality of a wall, but the legal consequences of Israel’s ongoing violation of the Palestinian right to self-determination, of its prolonged occupation, settlement and annexation, and of measures aimed at altering the demographic composition, character and status of Jerusalem — and the effect of those policies on the legal status of the occupation itself.

The Court delivered its opinion on 19 July 2024, after hearings in which more than fifty states participated. It found that Israel’s settlement policy, its use of natural resources, its confiscation of land, its treatment of Palestinian residency and its extension of Israeli law to occupied territory amount to annexation of large parts of the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and that the associated legislation and measures constitute systemic discrimination in breach of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. It found that Israel’s exercise of sovereignty over occupied territory is contrary to the prohibition on the acquisition of territory by force, and that its policies obstruct the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination.

From these findings it drew a conclusion no international court had reached before: that Israel’s continued presence in the occupied Palestinian territory is unlawful, and that Israel is under an obligation to bring it to an end as rapidly as possible; to cease immediately all new settlement activity and evacuate all settlers; to repeal the legislation and measures maintaining the unlawful situation; and to make reparation for the damage caused, including the return of land and property taken and the restitution of what cannot be returned. Other states are obliged not to recognise the situation as lawful and not to render aid or assistance in maintaining it; international organisations, including the United Nations, are obliged not to recognise it; and the General Assembly and Security Council should consider the modalities for bringing it to an end.

On 18 September 2024 the General Assembly adopted resolution ES-10/24 by 124 votes to 14, endorsing the opinion and demanding that Israel bring its unlawful presence to an end within twelve months. The opinion was delivered while the war in Gaza was at its height and the separate genocide case brought by South Africa was pending on the merits; taken together, the two proceedings represent the most serious legal challenge to the occupation in its history, and the twelve-month deadline passed without compliance.

Sources

• Legal Consequences arising from the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem — International Court of Justice, Advisory Opinion of 19 July 2024
• General Assembly resolution ES-10/24, 18 September 2024 — United Nations
• General Assembly Overwhelmingly Adopts Historic Text Demanding Israel End Its Unlawful Presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (GA/12626), 18 September 2024 — UN Meetings Coverage press release, via UNISPAL