The International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, the UN’s highest court, states that Israel systematically discriminates against the Palestinians.
The ICJ further states that Israel’s continued presence in the Palestinian territories is illegal and that the state must pay for the destruction caused by the occupation of the territories.
The UN Court calls the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory “illegal”. It also states that all states are obliged to distinguish between Israel and the occupied territories.
– Israel must stop all new settlement activities, it says.
The ICJ rules that Israeli settlements on Palestinian territory are in violation of international law.
The Court has been asked by the UN General Assembly to give its view on Israel’s policy and practice towards the Palestinians and at the same time deal with the legal status of the occupation.
With the announcement on Friday, the ICJ has ruled for the first time that the 57-year-old occupation of Palestinian territories is illegal.
The Court’s views are not binding, but they have great political significance.
The Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, says that the court in The Hague has come up with a “decision of lies”.
– The Jewish population is not an occupying power in its own country. Not even in our eternal capital Jerusalem or in Judea-Samaria (the Israeli term for the occupied West Bank).
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas welcomes the “historic” decision of the court in The Hague.
In a separate case, Israel is being investigated by the ICJ after South Africa accused Israel of violating the UN Convention on Genocide.
/ritzau/Reuters
Source: www.kristeligt-dagblad.dk
