An ‘Unlawful Presence’

On July 19, 2024, the International Court of Justice in The Hague handed down its advisory opinion on the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian West Bank and also, indirectly, of Gaza. It is arguably the most important legal document on that subject since the Six-Day War of 1967 left Israel in control of these territories. The ICJ had been asked by the United Nations General Assembly in December 2022 to give an advisory opinion on the occupation, and although it has no power to compel change, the ramifications of its ruling may well be far-reaching. Much depends on what the major world powers, including the United States, do in response. Israel, for its part, will do everything it can to ignore the court’s decision:

The State of Israel’s continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is unlawful; the State of Israel is under an obligation to bring to an end its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory as rapidly as possible; the State of Israel is under an obligation to cease immediately all new settlement activities, and to evacuate all settlers from the Occupied Palestinian Territory….

The Court is of the view that, as a consequence of Israel’s policies and practices, which span decades, the Palestinian people has been deprived of its right to self-determination over a long period, and further prolongation of these policies and practices undermines the exercise of this right in the future.

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