THE HAGUE, Netherlands — The top U.N. court ruled on Friday that Israel’s presence in the occupied Palestinian territories is “unlawful.” The court called on Israel to end its presence and for settlement construction to cease immediately. This constitutes an unprecedented and sweeping condemnation of Israel’s rule over the lands it captured 57 years ago.
In a non-binding opinion, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) cited a wide range of policies, including the building and expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, the use of the area’s natural resources, the annexation and imposition of permanent control over lands, and discriminatory policies against Palestinians. The ICJ asserted that all these actions violated international law.
The 15-judge panel stated that Israel’s “abuse of its status as the occupying power” renders its “presence in the occupied Palestinian territory unlawful.” The court declared its continued presence “illegal” and urged its termination “as rapidly as possible.”
The court mandated that Israel must halt settlement construction immediately and remove existing settlements, according to the 83-page opinion read by court President Nawaf Salam.
Israel, which generally views the United Nations and international tribunals as biased and unfair, refrained from sending a legal team to the hearings. However, Israel submitted written comments, arguing that the questions posed to the court are prejudiced and fail to address Israel’s security concerns. Israeli officials have asserted that the court’s intervention could undermine the peace process, which has been stagnant for over a decade.
In response to the ruling, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that the West Bank and east Jerusalem are part of the Jewish people’s historical “homeland.”
“The Jewish people are not conquerors in their own land – not in our eternal capital Jerusalem and not in the land of our ancestors in Judea and Samaria,” he stated in a post on the social media platform X. “No false decision in The Hague will distort this historical truth and likewise the legality of Israeli settlement in all the territories of our homeland cannot be contested.”
The court’s opinion, sought by the U.N. General Assembly following a Palestinian request, is unlikely to alter Israel’s policy. However, the broad scope of the opinion—which includes the assertion that Israel cannot claim sovereignty in the territories and is impeding Palestinians’ right to self-determination—could influence international opinion.
This ruling comes amidst Israel’s devastating 10-month military assault on Gaza, which was triggered by Hamas-led attacks in southern Israel. In a separate case, the ICJ is examining a South African claim that Israel’s campaign in Gaza amounts to apartheid, a claim that Israel vehemently denies.
Israel captured the West Bank, east Jerusalem, and Gaza Strip during the 1967 Mideast war. The Palestinians seek all three areas for an independent state.
Israel considers the West Bank to be disputed territory, whose future should be decided through negotiations, while it has established settlements in the area to strengthen its control. Israel has annexed east Jerusalem, a move that is not internationally recognized. While it withdrew from Gaza in 2005, it maintained a blockade of the territory after Hamas assumed power in 2007. The international community generally considers all three areas to be occupied territory.
At the ICJ, then-Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki accused Israel of apartheid and urged the United Nations’ top court to declare that Israel’s occupation of lands sought by the Palestinians is illegal and must end immediately and unconditionally for any hope for a two-state future to survive.
The Palestinians presented arguments in February alongside 49 other nations and three international organizations.
Erwin van Veen, a senior research fellow at the Clingendael think tank in The Hague, stated that if the court rules that Israel’s policies in the West Bank and east Jerusalem violate international law, it would “isolate Israel further internationally, at least from a legal point of view.”
He explained that such a ruling would “worsen the case for occupation. It removes any kind of legal, political, philosophical underpinning of the Israeli expansion project.”
It would also strengthen the position of “those who seek to advocate against it” — such as the grassroots Palestinian-led movement advocating boycotts, divestment, and sanctions against Israel.
He said it could also increase the number of countries that recognize the state of Palestine, particularly in the Western world, following the recent examples of Spain, Norway, and Ireland.”
This is not the first time the ICJ has been asked to provide its legal opinion on Israeli policies. Two decades ago, the court ruled that Israel’s security barrier in the West Bank was “contrary to international law.” Israel boycotted those proceedings, claiming they were politically motivated.
Israel maintains that the barrier is a security measure. Palestinians argue that the structure amounts to a massive land grab because it frequently extends into the West Bank.
Israel has built over 100 settlements, according to the anti-settlement monitoring group Peace Now. The West Bank settler population has grown by over 15% in the past five years to more than 500,000 Israelis, according to a pro-settler group.
Israel has also annexed east Jerusalem and considers the entire city to be its capital. An additional 200,000 Israelis reside in settlements built in east Jerusalem that Israel considers to be neighborhoods of its capital. Israeli policies have restricted Palestinian construction in the city, making it difficult for them to build new homes or expand existing ones.
The international community views all settlements as illegal or obstacles to peace since they are built on lands sought by the Palestinians for their state.
Netanyahu’s hard-line government is dominated by settlers and their political supporters. Netanyahu has given his finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, a former settler leader, significant authority over settlement policy. Smotrich has used this position to solidify Israel’s control over the West Bank by advancing plans to build more settlement homes and legalize outposts.
Authorities recently approved the appropriation of 12.7 square kilometers (nearly 5 square miles) of land in the Jordan Valley, a strategically important area deep inside the West Bank, according to a copy of the order obtained by The Associated Press. Data from Peace Now, the tracking group, indicate it was the largest single appropriation approved since the 1993 Oslo accords at the start of the peace process.
