The day after the ruling elites of the EU elected pro-Israel Ursula Von der Leyen as President of the European Commission, the International Court of Justice ruled that the occupation of Palestine is illegal. There has been almost no coverage of this historic ruling by the western media. 

In December 2022 the 193 countries of United Nations general assembly agreed to ask the International Court of Justice (ICJ) two questions: 

1. To give its opinion on the policies and practices of Israel towards Palestinians. 

2. The legal status of occupation of the Palestinian territories. 

A record number of countries, over 50, intervened on behalf of Palestine in this case and made arguments at the ICJ. Israel’s backers, the United States, Britain, Germany, Canada, Australia and others voted against it and argued for the court to drop the case. The ICJ rejected their arguments. 

On the 19^th of July 2024 the court gave their opinion, that the ICJ: 

1. Is of the opinion that the State of Israel’s continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is unlawful; 

2. Is of the opinion that the State of Israel is under an obligation to bring to an end its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory as rapidly as possible; 

3. Is of the opinion that the State of Israel is under an obligation to cease immediately all new settlement activities, and to evacuate all settlers from the Occupied Palestinian Territory; 

4. Is of the opinion that the State of Israel has the obligation to make reparations for the damage caused to all the natural or legal persons concerned in the Occupied Palestinian Territory; 

5. Is of the opinion that all States are under an obligation not to recognize as legal the situation arising from the unlawful presence of the State of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and not to render aid or assistance in maintaining the situation created by the continued presence of the State of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory; 

6. Is of the opinion that international organizations, including the United Nations, are under an obligation not to recognize as legal the situation arising from the unlawful presence of the State of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory; 

7. Is of the opinion that the United Nations, and especially the General Assembly, which requested this opinion, and the Security Council, should consider the precise modalities and further action required to bring to an end as rapidly as possible the unlawful presence of the State of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. 

Israelis have built 160,000 illegal settlements housing 700,000 people in The West Bank and East Jerusalem since 1967. 

All countries now are obliged under international law to stop all relations with Israel, no trade, no aid, no complicity, no arms, no assistance of any kind, no money, no actions of any kind to support Israel’s illegal occupation, apartheid and genocide against the Palestinian people. 

A resolution reflecting this will now be put forward at the UN general assembly.   

This is a historic step towards Justice, everything Palestinians have been saying for decades has just been enshrined in law at the highest level. Under international law, Israel does not have a right of “self-defence” against a territory that it occupies and, more than that, people in the occupied territory in Gaza have the right of armed resistance against their occupier. Israel’s propaganda and lies are no more, the ICJ has exposed Israel for what it is, a genocidal apartheid state propped up by EU, US and British Imperialism. 

Palestinian officials have hailed the International Court of Justice ruling as a “watershed moment” in their decades-long fight for justice. Israel quickly condemned Friday’s decision, while its top ally the United States also criticised it. 

The day after the ruling Israel bombed three countries – Yemen, Lebanon and Palestine – killing and maiming many civilians. The genocidal ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people continues and is barely reported by the complicit western media. 

Nothing is going to change without people of the world uniting to put pressure on governments to act and to force Boycott, Divestment and Sanction on Israel until this illegal occupation and slaughter ends. The old world is dying and a new one struggles to be born. 

Don’t stop talking about Palestine!   

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Featured image is a UN Photo / licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0