Solidarity with Palestine at the World Cup. Photo: Courtesy
South Africa has welcomed the International Court of Justice (ICJ) advisory opinion which says the United Nations and its Security Council must take immediate action to end Israel's “illegal occupation” of the Palestinian territory.
The court's advisory opinion, issued in The Hague on Friday, follows a request for the UN General Assembly to consider the case on Dec. 30, 2022. South Africa is one of 49 UN member states that submitted a statement on the case to the ICJ in February 2024.
In an 83-page advisory opinion, the Court unanimously reaffirmed its jurisdiction over the matter and held that Israel's continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is illegal under international law. The recommendation highlighted the legal consequences of Israel's policies and practices in the Occupied Territories, Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and called on the United Nations to consider further action to bring an end to it.
“The Court considers that the precise means by which Israel's illegal presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory should be brought to an end is a matter for the General Assembly and the Security Council, which requested this opinion. It is therefore up to them to take into account this advisory opinion and to consider what further action is necessary to bring an end to Israel's illegal presence,” the ICJ noted in its recommendation.
In its advisory opinion, the Court took the view that the impact of Israel's policies and practices, as well as the exercise of sovereignty over certain areas of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, constitutes an interference with the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination.
This includes the Israeli annexation of parts of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, the fragmentation of the territory, the undermining of its integrity, the deprivation of the Palestinian people of their enjoyment of its natural resources, and the violation of the right of the Palestinian people to pursue their economic, social and cultural development.
In summary, the court concluded that Israel's continued military presence in Palestine is illegal and that Israel is obligated to end its illegal presence “as soon as possible,” to “immediately cease all new settlement activity and evacuate all settlers from the Occupied Palestinian Territory,” and to “make compensation for the damage it has caused to all natural or legal persons connected with the territory.”
It also held that all states and international organizations, such as the United Nations, “are obliged not to recognize as legitimate the situation resulting from the illegal presence of the State of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and not to give aid or support to the maintenance of the situation created by the continued presence of the State of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.”
“The United Nations, in particular the General Assembly and the Security Council, which have been consulted, should consider the precise methods and further actions necessary to bring to an end as soon as possible the illegal presence of the State of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory,” the recommendation said.
Responding to the court's advisory opinion, South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Ronald Lamola said it confirmed his country's “long-standing position that Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory remains illegal under international law.”
“The international community must act to immediately end Israel's occupation and serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights law against the Palestinian people. There is now a new legal obligation for all states to end their complicity in Israel's unlawful actions and act to ensure respect for international law,” Lamola said.
Lamola said South Africa attaches particular importance to the court's finding that Israel has violated Article 3 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD), which states that “States Parties shall in particular condemn racial discrimination and apartheid and undertake to prevent, prohibit and eradicate all practices of this kind in territory under their jurisdiction.”
In its advisory opinion, the Court stated: “Israeli legislation and measures appear to serve to enforce and maintain the almost complete separation between settlers and Palestinian communities in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. For this reason, the Court considers that Israeli legislation and measures violate Article 3 of CERD.”
Lamola said the court's ruling “affirms once again that the Israeli government committed apartheid crimes.”