Arab countries and organizations expressed their welcome yesterday, Friday, to the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice, which considered the Israeli occupation "illegal" and demanded that Tel Aviv end its presence in the Palestinian territories.
This came in official statements issued by Kuwait, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq and the Arab League, following the issuance of the court’s opinion in response to the request of the United Nations General Assembly on December 30, 2022, regarding the issuance of an advisory opinion on the legal consequences arising from the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories since 1967.
In the hearings held between 19 and 26 February 2024, 49 countries participated, and the majority of the countries participating in the hearings said that Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories and its practices towards the Palestinians are “illegal”, while the United States and the United Kingdom defended the Israeli arguments and asked the court not to issue any advisory opinion.
"Historical Date"
In a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kuwait welcomed the announcement of the International Court of Justice, noting that it "contains an acknowledgment of the illegitimacy and illegality of the measures taken by the Israeli occupation, and a new reference added to the previous legal references that recognize the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people."
She stressed the need for the international community to perform all its legal, political and moral duties to achieve the aspirations of the brotherly Palestinian people to establish their independent state and stop the aggression on Gaza.
According to the statement of the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, Cairo welcomed the issuance of an advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice, calling on "all international parties to respect and implement the advisory opinion of the court, and to help enable the Palestinian people to exercise their legitimate right to self-determination, and to work to end the human suffering to which they are exposed."
She stressed "the collective responsibility of all countries to end this suffering, especially by stopping the ongoing Israeli violations and attacks on the Gaza Strip, and working to bring in humanitarian aid to confront the worsening humanitarian disaster in the Strip."
Jordan also welcomed, in a statement by the Foreign Ministry, the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice, stressing "the importance of this historic opinion, which reflects the international will and international law in supporting the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and the establishment of their independent, sovereign state."
He pointed out that the opinion confirms that all states are obligated not to recognize the situation arising from the Israeli occupation of the occupied Palestinian territories.
Iraq also welcomed the court's opinion in a statement by the Foreign Ministry, stressing "the importance of respecting the historic advisory opinion issued by the court and accepting the legal elements contained therein, in order to enhance efforts aimed at restoring stability in the Palestinian territories and the Middle East region."
For his part, Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, said via the X platform: “I greatly welcome the opinion issued by the International Court of Justice today on the illegality of the ongoing Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories for 57 years.”
He added: "The ruling, even if it seems logical and natural to all supporters of the Palestinian cause, represents an important legal pillar on the path to establishing the Palestinian narrative and giving it the legitimacy and legal credibility it needs in light of the occupation force's ongoing efforts to obscure the nature of the conflict."
Earlier today, the International Court of Justice stressed that the Palestinians have the right to self-determination, and that Israeli settlements on occupied territory must be evacuated.
During a session in The Hague, Netherlands, to give an advisory opinion on the repercussions of Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories, the court ruled that the occupied Palestinian territories constitute a "single territorial unit" that will be protected and respected.
She added that Israeli policies and practices amount to the annexation of large parts of the occupied Palestinian territories, and that she was "not convinced" that the extension of Israeli law to include the West Bank and East Jerusalem was justified.
In July 2023, the Israeli government claimed that it had “the right to impose its sovereignty over the West Bank,” saying that “the Jewish people have the exclusive right to self-determination in these lands.”
Israel occupied the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip in 1967, and international law prohibits Israel from annexing any parts of the West Bank, according to numerous UN statements in recent years.
The International Court of Justice's announcement of its advisory opinion comes at a time when Israel has been waging a war on the Gaza Strip since October 7, leaving more than 128,000 Palestinians dead and wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 10,000 missing.
Coinciding with its war on Gaza, the Israeli army and settlers escalated their attacks in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, which led to the killing of 576 Palestinians and the injury of about 5,350, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
During the Israeli war on Gaza, Armenia, Slovenia, Spain, Norway and Ireland officially recognized Palestine, bringing the number of countries recognizing it to 149 out of 193 countries in the United Nations.