UN International Court of Justice rules that Israeli settlements in Palestine “violate international law”

BarcelonaThe International Court of the UN ruled this Friday that the control that Israel exercises over the occupied Palestinian territories amounts to a “violation of international law”. Specifically, the court found that Israeli settlement policies and natural resource exploitation practices “are a de facto occupation” and have a “continuing character,” the court said.

The court has urged the Israeli government to stop colonization “as soon as possible” and to repair the damage caused by the occupation of the Palestinian territories. “The Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and the regime associated with them, have been established and remain in violation of international law,” President Nawaf Salam said, reading the findings.

The ruling is a non-binding advisory opinion, which means it is not binding but carries significant weight in international law. In this sense, it could mean that international sanctions against Israel are increased.

Shortly after the verdict was made public, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized the “lies” of the International Court, asserting that the Jewish people “do not occupy their own land.” “No false decision in The Hague will distort this historical truth, just as the legality of the Israeli settlement in all the territories of our homeland cannot be questioned,” he said. The country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also issued a statement rejecting the sentence and described the decision as tendentious and “completely detached” from reality.” In addition, the ministry criticizes that it “ignores” the atrocities committed by Hamas on the 7 of October

Also the Israeli Minister of Finance, Bezalel Smotric – who has previously defended the annexation of the occupied West Bank territories – has reacted with a publication on the X network that said: “The response to The Hague: sovereignty now”.

The case stems from a request made by the UN General Assembly in 2022, prior to the start of the current conflict between Hamas and Israel. In 2004, the same court had considered that the construction of the wall and its associated regime were “contrary” to international law and “impede the freedom of movement of the inhabitants of the territory (…), as well as the exercise of their right to work, health, education and an adequate standard of living”.