‘Nothing to do with law, justice, realities’
The ICJ stated that Israel’s presence in East Jerusalem and the West Bank constituted an intent effectively to annex territory against international law.
The Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC) has joined condemnation of a ruling last week by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that Israel’s presence in East Jerusalem and the West Bank is unlawful.
In an advisory, non-binding opinion last Friday, sought in 2022 by the UN General Assembly, and arrived at without Israel’s participation, the ICJ also ruled that Israel’s transfer to and maintenance of “settlers” in East Jerusalem and the West Bank breached Article 49 of the 4th Geneva Convention.
The ICJ stated that Israel’s presence constituted an intent effectively to annex territory against international law, and that Israel’s policies in these territories were designed to benefit settlers, not Palestinian Arabs.
Reading from the court’s opinion, ICJ president Nawaf Salam stated, “The sustained abuse by Israel of its position as an occupying power, through annexation and an assertion of permanent control over the occupied Palestinian territory and continued frustration of the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, violates fundamental principles of international law and renders Israel’s presence in the occupied Palestinian territory unlawful.”
The Hague court also concluded Israel had breached article 3 of the international convention on the elimination of all forms of racial discrimination.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office responded, “The Jewish people are not occupiers in their own land – not in our eternal capital Jerusalem, nor in our ancestral heritage of Judea and Samaria [the occupied West Bank]. No decision of lies in The Hague will distort this historical truth, and similarly, the legality of Israeli settlements in all parts of our homeland cannot be disputed.”
However, Foreign Minister Penny Wong responded on X (formerly Twitter) that Israel’s activities were a “significant obstacle” to peace. “We respect the independence of the court and its critical role in upholding international law and the rules-based order … We want to see concrete steps taken by Israel to cease the expansion of settlements and to respond to extremist settler activity.”
Blasting the advisory opinion as “legally pathetic and morally deplorable”, AIJAC executive director Colin Rubenstein told The AJN it “has nothing to do with law, justice, or basic realities, especially Israeli security, and it disregards even the existential war waged on Israel from multiple fronts. The court has wildly exceeded its authority in its one-sided, artificial impositions on Israeli society and the majority judgment, although not binding, is a tragedy for Israel and the rule of law and marks a historic point in the decline of the court.
“It appears that in reaching its decision, the ICJ has relied on findings of purported facts provided by the same biased UN that provided the slanted terms of reference. In its condemnation of the way Israel treats Palestinians in the West Bank, the court completely ignored the very valid reasons for security measures, the need to stop the violence of the Second Intifada, which killed more than 1000 innocent Israelis and maimed thousands more, and the continuing need to prevent that type of violence recurring.
“Israel’s security measures are solely about preventing terrorism, they are not about discrimination. The court also disregards the constant terrorism that ensued from the Gaza Strip after Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005,” Rubenstein said.
However, New Israel Fund Australia executive director Michael Chaitow stated that his organisation “has warned for many years that Israel cannot maintain its status as a liberal democracy whilst simultaneously maintaining a military occupation. It is possible to invest in peace and security instead of occupation. We urge the Israeli government to heed this wake-up call and take decisive action to advance peace negotiations that will bring back the hostages, end the conflict in Gaza, and establish a lasting and enduring peace.”
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