UN Supreme Court to hear major case pertaining to Israel’s occupation in Palestinian Territories

The International Court of Justice, which is a part of the UN, is to listen to the last reasons in a case that questions Israel’s 56-year control of the West Bank and Gaza.

This week’s hearings will focus on the legal impact of Israel’s control over the Palestinian territories.

Renowned lawyer Philippe Sands told the BBC that this issue is very important and the solution is crucial. Even though it may not be as dramatic as other Court cases, it is still very significant.

This situation started because of a decision made by the United Nations in December 2022, before the attacks by Hamas on October 7th last year, and Israel’s military reaction in the Gaza Strip.

What have people said in favor of their opinions.

Last week, the Palestinian Authority’s foreign minister accused Israel of being like a colonial power that treats Palestinians unfairly.

He used a lot of maps to show how the land in Palestine is getting smaller and smaller.

Benjamin Netanyahu, the leader of Israel, showed a picture at the UNGA in September. In the picture, he held up a map of the Middle East without any Palestinian territory. He called it the “new” Middle East.

Mr al-Maliki said there is no Palestine on the map, only Israel. It includes all the land from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea.

“This shows that the long-lasting Israeli control of Palestine aims to make Palestine disappear and destroy the Palestinian people. ”

Paul S Reichler, a lawyer who works internationally, told the ICJ that permanent occupation doesn’t make sense according to the law. “If a job keeps going on and on, it becomes like adding on extra territory,” he said.

Philippe Sands, who worked for the PA’s legal team, said to the judges: “The right for people to decide their own future. UN member states must make Israel stop occupying immediately.

“No help, no support, no involvement, no help with using force, no money, no weapons, no trade. ” I don’t know anything.

Many countries said that Israel’s occupation was violating the Palestinian people’s right to decide things for themselves. They talked about this for 30 minutes.

Israel said no to being in the meetings. They gave a written statement instead. They said the meetings would make it harder to fix the problem. They didn’t like the questions from the UN.

However, Israel’s best friends did take part.

The US told the ICJ that pulling out without security promises would hurt talks for peace. It requested the judges to make sure that their decision would support, not harm, the possibility of a two-state solution.

The UK asked a group of judges not to give their opinion because Israel did not agree to it.

This might have something to do with another case at the ICJ. Mauritius is suing the UK over the Chagos Islands, and the UK made the same argument and lost.

Many countries said the Hamas attacks, which killed about 1,200 people and took over 250 hostages in Gaza, showed that Israel needs to be safe. They said if Israeli forces leave, there must be guarantees for safety.

Why is this important.

If the ICJ gives an opinion that is not a law, it goes to the UN General Assembly, and they make a decision. That would be important and could start talks and create the rules for a future agreement.

If the court says Israel’s control of the land is against the law, it will tell the UN and other countries not to help or support the current situation.

This decision could have a big impact on trade and on Israel’s position. Countries such as the US might struggle to keep helping Israel.

The UNGA’s current case is the first time since the 1940s that the highest UN court will be able to address all of these issues.

In recent weeks, some ICJ presentations have become really popular on TikTok. It shows that even legal arguments, which usually seem far away and not relevant, are connecting with people outside of the ICJ’s Great Hall of Justice.

At the same time, Human Rights Watch says that Israel is not following a court order to allow food and supplies into Gaza. This is putting 2. 3 million Palestinians in danger of not having enough food.

Israeli officials said that they have given a response to the ICJ about the court’s request on January 26th. The court wanted Israel to report on the actions they are taking to stop genocide in Gaza.

The Israeli government hasn’t said what they will do in response yet.