The United Nations General Assembly has passed a resolution calling on the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to issue an advisory opinion on the legal consequences of Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian territory. The General Assembly voted in favor of the resolution, 87 to 26, with 53 abstentions, with Western powers divided but with virtually unanimous support in the Islamic world, including Arab countries that normalized relations with Israel. rice field. Russia and China voted in favor of the resolution. Twenty-four other member states, including Israel, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany, voted against the resolution, while France was among her 53 abstaining.
The Hague-based ICJ, also known as the World Court of Justice, is the United Nations Supreme Court for disputes between States. Its decisions are binding, but the ICJ is non-enforceable. The General Assembly recommends to the ICJ the legal consequences of Israel’s “occupation, settlement, and annexation. Including the demographic composition, the character of the Holy City of Jerusalem, measures to change its status, and the adoption of related discriminatory measures”. asked to give their opinion. Laws and Measures. The UN resolution also calls on the International Court of Justice to advise on “how these policies and practices affect the legal status of the occupation” and the legal implications of that status for all States and the United Nations.
The last time the ICJ addressed the Israeli occupation issue was in 2004 when it ruled that the Israeli wall in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem was illegal. Israel rejected the verdict, accusing the court of being politically motivated. Among the Western powers that supported the resolution was Portugal, whose representatives acknowledged “the risk of over judgment in international relations”, but said the World Court “supports the international rules-based order we seek to maintain”.
