Historic hearings on Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories since 1967 are being held at the International Court of Justice in The Hague (ICJ)
A total of 52 countries and three organizations will present the legal consequences of Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem. Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyadh Al-Maliki will testify first.
Hearings will be held until February 26, and the judges are expected to take several months to deliberate before issuing their decision.
While Israel has ignored similar moves in the past, the event could increase political pressure over its slaughter in Gaza, where some 29,000 Palestinians have died since October 7, 2023, according to Gaza health officials.
Among the countries scheduled to participate in the hearings are the US, China, Russia, South Africa and Egypt. Israel will not take part, although it has sent written comments.
The hearings are part of an effort by the Palestinians to ask international legal institutions to look into Israel’s conduct, which has plunged Gaza into a humanitarian crisis.
Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem – areas of historic Palestine claimed by Palestinians for statehood – in the 1967 Six-Day War (also known as the Arab-Israeli War). It withdrew from Gaza in 2005 but, along with neighboring Egypt, still controls the borders of the Palestinian enclave.
It is noted that this is the second time that the General Assembly has asked the ICJ for an advisory opinion on the occupied Palestinian territories. It is also clarified that the proceedings in question are separate from the appeal case of South Africa against Israel, for violation of the 1948 Genocide Convention.
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