ICJ: Israeli Presence, Settlements in Occupied Palestine ‘Unlawful’

Settler leaders call on Netanyahu to annex territories

The UN’s highest court, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), has issued a ruling on Israel’s presence in occupied Palestinian territories, saying it is unlawful and must come to an end as rapidly as possible.

The non-binding ruling comes amid an open-ended war in the Gaza Strip and growing calls from ministers in the Israeli government to expand control over the West Bank into a full-scale annexation. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said Israel should prepare to make the move in response to the ICJ ruling, arguing it was necessary to “thwart” any Palestinian state.

The status quo, arguably, already precludes the creation of a Palestinian state, with settlements positioned to prevent any contiguous territory from being available for an independent Palestine.

The ICJ’s ruling, which, again, is non-binding, is that the settlements and the government’s actions, including the systematic discrimination against Palestinians inside the territory already amount to annexation in parts of would-be Palestine.

Israel responded with anger to the ruling with accusations of antisemitism. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir appeared to call once more for the annexation, saying “the time has come for governance and sovereignty.”

Settler leaders echoed the call for “sovereignty” over the occupied territories, saying the ICJ’s ruling that the settlements are a violation of international law was itself a violation of international law and the Bible, and insisting that Israel should apply sovereignty to “Judea and Samaria.”

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.