Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki asked the judges of the International Court of Justice to order an end to Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory.
Palestinian representatives called for an end to the occupation of the Palestinian territories and the apartheid system enforced by Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki and Palestinian UN envoy Riyad Mansour, along with several academics and legal experts, will represent Palestine at the hearings that began in The Hague on Monday and will continue until February 26. did.
The case is separate from South Africa's genocide lawsuit against Israel over the ongoing deadly war in Gaza, which will determine the legal consequences of Israel's decades-long occupation of the Palestinian territory.
In December 2022, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) passed a resolution calling on the ICJ to provide an advisory or non-binding opinion on Israel's 57-year occupation of the Palestinian territories. There were 87 votes in favor, and the United States was among the 26 votes against.
Reporting from The Hague, Al Jazeera's Bernard Smith said there were two questions that all submissions must address.
“The first is the legal consequences of continuing Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories and preventing Palestinian self-determination by prolonging the occupation, settlement construction, and annexation of the territories.” he said.
“And the second question is: how do these policies affect the legal status of the occupation, and what legal consequences will there be for all countries, not just Israel?”
Mansour said at Monday's hearing that Israel should bear the consequences of its actions contrary to international law, not be rewarded. He tearfully explained how international law fails to protect Palestinian children.
“We call on you to affirm that the Israeli presence in the occupied Palestinian territories is unlawful and that the occupation must end immediately, completely and unconditionally.”
“Without accountability there can be no justice. And without justice there can be no peace.”
Palestinian representatives, including Namira Negum, detailed how Israeli policies and practices in the Occupied Palestinian Territories amount to apartheid.
Amnesty International also issued a statement on Monday, saying Israel must end its “brutal” occupation of Palestine “to stop fomenting apartheid and systematic human rights abuses.”
Marwan Bishara, senior political analyst at Al Jazeera, said that since the question of whether the Occupied Palestinian Territories is occupied or not has already been determined by UN Security Council resolutions, the ICJ is not making a determination, but rather that Israel is under long-term occupation. He said that he is deciding whether he wants to make it a de facto annexation.
“Everything about this occupation seems permanent,” he said, adding that this was evidenced by the expansion of Israeli settlements.
Palestinian lawyer Mohamed Dahle said the hearing was critical because for decades the Palestinians had tried to use international law and diplomacy to draw attention to their cause, but to no avail. said.
“This addition of an advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice means that many countries around the world will indeed have a legal basis to deal with the Israeli occupation, and perhaps the State of Israel and the Israeli government, in a different way. Maybe,” Dahle told Al Jazeera from occupied East Jerusalem.
After the last hearing on February 26, the judges are expected to deliberate for several months before issuing a recommendation.
This is the second time that the ICJ has been asked to provide an advisory opinion related to the occupied Palestinian territories at the request of the UNGA.
In July 2004, the World Court ruled that Israel's separation wall in the occupied West Bank violated international law and should be demolished. That wall still stands today.
Israel did not participate in this week's hearing, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calling it “despicable” and “shameful” in an angry response to the 2022 UN request.