UN’s top court wraps hearings on Palestinian question

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (CN) — Spain, Turkey and the African Union were among the final presentations on Monday in more than a week of hearings at the United Nations’ highest court over Israel’s legal obligations in the Palestinian territories. 

The overwhelming number of countries participating in the proceedings so far have condemned Israeli behavior in the Palestinian territories. 

“The Palestinian people live in extremely difficult conditions under Israel's suffocating occupation," Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ahmet Yildiz said on behalf of Turkey. "Israel's decadeslong occupation has not only led to the deprivation of the Palestinian people of their fundamental rights, but also made them dependent on Israel's mercy.”

The South Pacific island nation of Fiji was one of the few countries to argue that the court should decline to issue an advisory opinion. “The court does not have before it the accurate and reliable information it would need to render on the questions posed,” Filipo Tarakinikini, Fiji’s permanent representative to the U.N. told the court. 

A record-breaking 52 countries and three international organizations made oral arguments at the International Court of Justice, which was asked by the U.N. General Assembly last December to weigh in on the legality of the Israeli presence in the area. 

The request for the advisory opinion predates Hamas’ attack last year on Israel and Israel’s subsequent military response in Gaza. It is also separate from the complaint filed by South Africa, in December accusing Israel of committing genocide against the Palestinian people. 

In written submissions, Israel asked the court to decline to issue an opinion and said that the best path forward was through negotiations. “For all the difficulties and obstacles that exist, Israeli Palestinian reconciliation will not be served by further undermining the core understanding that this is a tragic conflict in which two sides — not just one — have rights and responsibilities,” the country's representatives wrote in its five-page submission. Israel opted to not participate in the oral proceedings. 

The United States urged the court to limit itself to the questions at hand and to not attempt to solve the entire conflict.  "The request seeks advice only with respect to the legal consequences of the conduct of one of the parties to the underlying conflict,” State Department legal adviser Richard Visek said. 

Last week, Palestine told the 15-judge panel that Israel has been illegally occupying its land for more than 50 years, subjecting Palestinians to discriminatory and apartheid policies. "This is the version of 21st century apartheid. This is apartheid," said Namira Negm, one of the members of the Palestinian legal team. She told the court that Palestinians experience something worse than was ever seen under apartheid in South Africa. 

South Africa was the second presentation last week. Pretoria argued that a lack of international accountability in the areas Palestinians claim for a future state has led to the current conflict. “[It] emboldens Israel to commit the crime of crimes: genocide,” Vusimuzi Madonsela, South Africa’s ambassador to the Netherlands, said. 

Last month, in the proceedings brought by South Africa, judges said there was a risk that genocide could occur in the Gaza Strip and ordered emergency measures against Israel. 

After years of pressure from human rights groups and Palestinian advocates, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution in December 2022 to ask the court two questions about the ongoing situation. The first concerns the legal obligations of Israel in the Palestinian territories and the second asks what obligations arise for other countries. 

Following the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, the so-called Green Line was established, creating a demarcation line between Israel and its neighbors. However, those boundaries have never been firm and have shifted during other conflicts and peace agreements, with Israel taking increasing control over lands where Palestinians live. Since 1967, the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip are considered “occupied territories” by the United Nations. 

Advisory opinions are not legally binding. In 2004, the court issued an advisory opinion about the Israeli construction of a wall around East Jerusalem, finding the barrier violated international law. The wall remains, even after the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution calling on Israel to heed the opinion. 

The court typically issues advisory opinions six months after oral hearings.

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