Ending Israel's Illegal Occupation of Palestinian Territory

The Palestinian American Bar Association (PABA) welcomes the July 19, 2024 International Court of Justice (ICJ) advisory opinion on the matter of Legal Consequences Arising from the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem.  The ICJ is the highest court in the world on international legal issues and disputes between nations.  The ICJ’s historic opinion definitively answers important legal questions regarding the Israeli occupation and affirms the painful collective experience of Palestinians who, since 1967, have endured Israel’s brutal military, economic, and cultural occupation of the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem, or the “Occupied Palestinian Territory” (OPT). 

Importantly, the ICJ clarified the legal status of the Gaza Strip.  According to the ICJ, Israel remains an occupying power in the Gaza Strip because of its “control of the land, sea and air borders, restrictions on movement of people and goods, collection of import and export taxes, and military control over the buffer zone, despite the withdrawal of its military presence in 2005.”

BACKGROUND

‍In December 2022, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution requesting the International Court of Justice to give an advisory opinion on the following questions:

1. What are the legal consequences arising from the ongoing violation by Israel of the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, from its prolonged occupation, settlement and annexation of the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including measures aimed at altering the demographic composition, character and status of the Holy City of Jerusalem, and from its adoption of related discriminatory legislation and measures?
2. How do the policies and practices of Israel referred to . . . above, affect the legal status of the occupation, and what are the legal consequences that arise for all States and the United Nations from this status?

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RULING

‍In issuing its advisory opinion, the ICJ ruled that:

• the Israeli occupation of and presence in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank (including all settlement communities), and East Jerusalem is entirely unlawful; 
• Israel is under an obligation to immediately end it’s unlawful presence in the OPT immediately; 
• Israel is imposing systemic discrimination against Palestinians that amounts to racial segregation and apartheid in the OPT; 
• the Oslo Accords do not and cannot eclipse the obligations of international law, which protect the rights of the Palestinian people, including the right to self-determination;
• Israel must evacuate all settlers, dismantle settlements and the separation wall (which was largely built inside the OPT), provide full reparations to Palestinian victims, and allow all Palestinians who were forced out to return; 
• all States are under an obligation to reject Israel’s unlawful presence in the OPT;
• all States are under an obligation to refuse aid or assistance in maintaining Israel’s unlawful presence in the OPT; and
• all States and international organizations (including the UN) may not recognize Israel’s presence in and occupation of the OPT as lawful and must take action to ensure that Israel complies and ends the occupation as “rapidly as possible.”

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CONTEXT

‍The ICJ’s advisory jurisdiction is a special procedure that is only available to UN institutions and some of the UN’s partner organizations. Unlike the decisions of a member nation’s court like the U.S. Supreme Court, the ICJ’s rulings are not automatically enforceable.  The UN General Assembly, UN Security Council, and member states must decide how to effectuate the advisory opinion. PABA calls on these entities to take appropriate measures to enforce the ICJ’s ruling.  

RESOURCES

• Read the full ICJ advisory opinion here. 
• Law for Palestine’s summary of the advisory opinion and webinar. 
• PABA will soon announce a webinar and additional resources on the ICJ ruling and the occupied Palestinian territory.  Please stay tuned at PABALaw.org. 

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If you are interested in working with PABA on initiatives relating to the ICJ ruling, please connect with us by emailing pabalawyers@gmail.com or joining our Allies Mailing List.