International Court of Justice to Issue Advisory Opinion on Israeli Occupation Policies

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is set to issue an advisory opinion on July 19, 2024, with significant consequences for human rights protections in Palestine under Israel's 57-year occupation. The opinion comes after a December 2022 request by the United Nations General Assembly to consider the legal consequences of Israel's policies and practices in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. The ICJ held hearings in February 2023, with 50 countries and three international organizations participating in the oral proceedings.

Key Takeaways:

• The ICJ's advisory opinion will be its first comprehensive assessment of the human rights consequences for Palestinians of Israel's occupation policies and practices.
• The court has a broad remit in what it can cover in its advisory opinion, including Israel's practices and policies violating international legal prohibitions against racial discrimination, including the crime against humanity of apartheid, to the continued application of international humanitarian law and human rights law under occupation.
• The court may also assess the legal responsibilities of other countries and the UN to address violations of international law arising from Israel's occupation.
• Israel, which rejects the applicability of the law of occupation to Palestine, unlawfully purported to annex occupied East Jerusalem in 1967 and refuses to acknowledge its responsibilities toward Palestinian civilians as the occupying power in the Gaza Strip.
• The ICJ's consideration of the legal consequences of Israel's occupation policies and practices began in December 2022 and predates the October 2023 escalation of hostilities between Israel and Palestinian armed groups.
• On October 7, 2023, Hamas-led Palestinian armed groups carried out an assault on southern Israel, committing war crimes and crimes against humanity, and Israeli forces have responded with attacks on residential buildings, medical facilities, and aid workers.

Statistics:

• Over 38,600 people have been killed in Gaza according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
• 251 people were taken hostage by Palestinian armed groups on October 7, 2023.
• Israeli authorities have detained incommunicado and mistreated thousands of Palestinians, with persistent reports of torture.
• In the occupied West Bank, where Israeli forces have killed over 530 Palestinians since October 7, settlements and soldiers have displaced entire Palestinian communities.
• 25 countries cited the commission of the crimes against humanity of apartheid or persecution by Israel against Palestinians as one key consequence of the occupation.
• The last advisory opinion by the ICJ, in 2019, addressed the deportation of the inhabitants of the Chagos Archipelago by the United Kingdom and the decolonization of Mauritius.

Sources:

• "ICJ to Issue Advisory Opinion on Israeli Occupation" by Human Rights Watch.
• "UN General Assembly Requests ICJ Advisory Opinion on Israeli Occupation" by United Nations General Assembly.
• "ICJ Advisory Opinion on Israeli Occupation: A Guide" by Clive Baldwin, Senior Legal Adviser at Human Rights Watch.