The International Court of Justice examines the Israeli occupation

Posted by: 02/19/2024 – 00:04

5 minutes

With our correspondent in The Hague,

It is a new Six Day War, this time legal, which is being opened before the International Court of Justice (ICJ). From February 19 to 26, 2024, ministers, diplomats and lawyers from fifty-two countries and three international organizations will attend the Peace Palace in The Hague, where the fifteen judges of the World Court will sit. The UN Supreme Court should examine the roots of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Unless the procedure is linked to a lawsuit filed by South Africa at the end of December, accusing Israel of genocide against Gaza's Palestinians, a war against Israel will undoubtedly arise for Hamas from October 7. Although Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants to make the war a global fight against terror, the hearings being organized before the World Court will inevitably place this final chapter in the wider context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Israel did not argue at the Hague

An appeal to the ICJ is due by December 30, 2022. On that day, the UN General Assembly asked this court to provide legal advice on the legality or illegality of the Israeli occupation and its consequences. Two questions are submitted to the fifteen judges, and they are to say what ” Legal Consequences of Israel's Violation of Palestine's Right to Self-Determination, Its Occupation, Its Colonization, and Its Long-Term Annexation of Palestinian Territory Since 1967 “.

The NGO countries submitted written briefs to the court in July 2023 The October 7 attacks by Hamas, and the reprisals that followed. Only a few states responded before the court's October 25 deadline. So the court goes to the first and last round of arguments on Monday, viva voce This time.

But Israel will not come to the Peace Palace to argue. The Jewish state is against this practice. He says it aims to “demonize” Israel and that resolving the conflict is not the business of international justice. On Monday, February 19, the Palestinians will be given three hours to plead their case. Until February 26, the volunteers – namely the other 51 states and three multilateral organizations – the African Union, the Arab League and the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) – will compete against each other at a table placed before judges. , For requests as short as 30 minutes.

A plea by proxy

If the Jewish state refuses to appear at The Hague, several countries, including its closest allies the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada, will defend its positions. Three of Israel's allies vowed the investigations would harm negotiations on the future of the occupied territories. They ask the judges not to elaborate on the status of the territory or these boundaries. The Palestinians and their allies, who outnumber the opposition in The Hague, are instead asking them for a precise answer.

For six days, through the demands of Algeria, South Africa, Jordan, Ireland and others, the evils of the occupation will be truly explored: apartheid, forced displacement, self-determination, natural resources, Current status On the Holy City, the annexation of Jerusalem, impunity and of course, the colonization of the Palestinian territories. Since the October 7 attacks, this Colonization continues at a rapid pace With the approval and instigation of far-right ministers Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smodrich in the Netanyahu government. Several construction projects have recently been approved, particularly in East Jerusalem.

In its memorandum submitted in July, Paris rejects any annexation, particularly of Jerusalem, and clearly condemns colonialism and human rights abuses as a result of the occupation. The document was submitted in July 2023 and during the tenure of Catherine Colonna as Secretary of State. Will the Paris petitions return to these levels?

The scope of the future concept depends on the states

Will the judges' response help revive efforts to break the impasse in the conflict? The role of these inquiries depends on the purpose that states wish to give them. Will their opinion provide potential negotiators with a basis for settlement while the West re-brands ” A two-state solution “, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently dismissed the possibility of a Palestinian state?

If the judges answered the UN General Assembly's questions in full, would their opinion carry weight, if not necessarily, for Israel's close or distant allies? Two parallel questions related to the ongoing conflict may be addressed during the trial: Israel's claim of self-defense to justify its use of force and Gaza's position, on which legal experts disagree. Is the enclave considered occupied even though Israeli forces withdrew from the territory in 2005 and organized its blockade two years later?

Since its establishment in 1946, the International Court of Justice has issued 30 legal opinions and its judges have ruled on aggression on at least two occasions: in the case between the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda, in 2005. They were consulted on the legality of the “wall” built by Israel in 2004. The judges ordered the removal of the wall, which was deemed illegal. It was like a test run for the big oral exam that opens on Monday. Their opinion – which was not binding – had only partial consequences.

Read moreIsraeli occupation 'main cause' of tensions in Middle East: UN