Opinion

Now the ICJ has demolished Israeli justification of occupation of Palestine, Ireland must act

Israel is still using US bombs on refugee camps, schools and hospitals while blocking food and clean water to the civilian population of Gaza, including starving children

Israeli settlers go for a swim at a spring in the Palestinian village of al-Ajwa, just north of the Israeli occupied West Bank city of Jericho. Since the start of the Gaza war, illegal Israeli settlement of the occupied West Bank has hit new records. Photograph: Hazem Bader/AFP via Getty Images
Ray Murphy
Thu Jul 25 2024 - 06:00

The recent International Court of Justice legal opinion on Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories marks one of the strongest legal rebukes of Israeli policies to date. The opinion of the court is a milestone whose repercussions cannot be ignored. The real intent of Israel’s 57-year occupation has been called out for what it truly is.

The case predated the current conflict in Gaza. It resulted from a 2022 request from the UN General Assembly for the court to provide an opinion on the legality and implications of the continued Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory.

The opinion is detailed and strong. Expanding on a previous opinion delivered in 2004 in relation to the separation wall, much of which was built by Israel on Palestinian land, it finds that the occupation, characterised by settlements and the dispossession of the Palestinian population by incremental annexation and denial of Palestinian self-determination, is a clear violation of international law and must be terminated immediately.

The UN’s highest court found that the West Bank, Gaza strip and East Jerusalem are not so-called disputed territories as claimed by Israel, and therefore international humanitarian law including the Geneva Conventions apply. Racial discrimination and human rights violations are widespread. The court also ruled that Palestinians were due reparations for the harm caused to them for over 57 years of occupation that systematically discriminates against them.

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Already increasingly isolated over its conduct in Gaza and under investigation at the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court for related serious violations of international law, including genocide, the ruling could not have come at a worse time for Israel. It offers a detailed analysis of the occupation on the ground and sheds light on Israeli settler colonialism taking place in the West Bank in the shadow of atrocities in Gaza.

The court’s ruling will now go to the UN General Assembly, which must decide how to respond. It could adopt a resolution which, although non-binding, has the potential to provide a template for where to go from here. Such resolutions carry significant weight and legitimacy coming from a UN body that represents all member states.

‘Might is right’ is a slogan that belongs to the law of the jungle, it is not a moral compass. Israel, like Russia, cannot be allowed to seize territory by force with impunity

The General Assembly does not have the power to expel a UN member state without a recommendation from the Security Council. However, it does have the ability to suspend certain rights and privileges. It is worth recalling that this is what happened to South Africa in 1974, despite opposition from the US and other western powers.

According to an editorial in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, there is not even a sliver of hope that after 57 years the court’s opinion will spur Israel to comply with the demands to evacuate the settlements and to end the occupation and military control over Palestinians. It warned that if Israel continues to ignore what the world tells it, it may wake up to a reality in which it is boycotted and ostracised like apartheid-era South Africa.

This is not just another UN report, but an opinion of the world court. Although non-binding, it should be acted on immediately. It places an obligation on international organisations and UN member states not to recognise as legal or help to maintain the situation arising from Israel’s unlawful presence in the Palestinian territories. States, including Ireland, must now review all trade and other relations with Israel, to ensure that they do not contribute to Israel’s illegal occupation of the Palestinian territories. At a minimum we should enact the Occupied Territories Bill and the Illegal Israeli Settlements Divestment Bill.

The finding that the transfer by Israel of settlers to the West Bank and Jerusalem as well as Israel’s maintenance of their presence, is contrary to the Fourth Geneva Convention has significant implications for the cases currently being investigated by the International Criminal Court. The two courts are separate in terms of jurisdiction and role. The International Criminal Court is not a UN body and has jurisdiction to investigate individuals and not states. The impact of an authoritative ruling such as this by the International Court of Justice should not be underestimated.

[ Israel carries out fresh raids in Gaza as Netanyahu visits United States ]

International law is not an à la carte menu that allows states to select what they want and disregard the remainder. The US talks about a “rules-based order”, but rules lack legitimacy unless based on international law. “Might is right” is a slogan that belongs to the law of the jungle, it is not a moral compass. Israel, like Russia, cannot be allowed to seize territory by force with impunity.

The real challenge now is to implement international law and use it as a benchmark to create a just and lasting peace in the region. Such a strategy has been consistently opposed by Israel and the US. The court’s ruling makes it clear why. This requires actions by states and the UN. Time is critical, as justice delayed is justice denied. Failure to hold Netanyahu and his ministers to account will lead to future recurring violence and atrocities.

Israel is still using US bombs on refugee camps, schools and hospitals while blocking food and clean water to the civilian population of Gaza, including starving children. The court advised states to avoid any actions, including providing aid or assistance that would maintain the current situation. A major question remains whether the US, UK and EU states will continue to facilitate these serious violations of international law?

Some in Israel were quick to appreciate the precedent set when states including the US and UK imposed sanctions on violent settler groups and individuals. The time is long past when individual Israeli ministers and institutions supporting the settlement enterprise are similarly sanctioned.

Ray Murphy is a professor at the Irish Centre for Human Rights in the School of Law at University of Galway