The USA instructed the UN Supreme Court docket on Wednesday that Israel can’t be legally compelled to withdraw from occupied Palestinian territory with out safety ensures.
The Worldwide Court docket of Justice is holding week-long hearings on the request of the United Nations, throughout which no fewer than 52 international locations gave their views on the Israeli occupation.
Most audio system have demanded that Israel finish its occupation, which got here after a six-day Arab-Israeli conflict in 1967, however Washington got here to defend its ally at court docket.
“The court docket mustn’t discover that Israel is legally obligated to instantly and unconditionally withdraw from occupied territory,” stated Richard Visek, authorized adviser on the US Division of State.
“Any transfer towards Israel’s withdrawal from the West Financial institution and Gaza requires a consideration of Israel’s very actual safety wants,” he argued.
“We have been all reminded of those safety wants on October 7,” he stated, referring to the Hamas assaults which have fueled the present battle.
The UN has requested the Worldwide Court docket of Justice to situation an “opinion” on the “authorized penalties arising from Israel’s insurance policies and practices within the occupied Palestinian territories, together with East Jerusalem.”
The court docket will in all probability make a ruling this yr, however it’s not binding on anybody.
Palestinian International Minister Riyad al-Maliki instructed reporters after the US assertion: “I anticipated rather more. I’ve not heard something new.”
Washington has insisted that the Israeli-Palestinian battle be addressed in “different boards and never right here,” Al-Maliki stated.
“Properly, now we have tried different boards over the past 75 years and now we have confronted the American veto and American hegemony over decision-making processes throughout the UN system,” he stated.
“And that’s the reason we got here to the Worldwide Court docket of Justice.”
– ‘No peace’ –
Israel is just not taking part within the oral hearings, however has submitted a written submission describing the questions posed to the court docket as “biased” and “tendentious.”
The October 7 assaults and ongoing violence within the Gaza Strip “reinforce the USA’ resolve to urgently attain a definitive peace,” Visek stated.
Additionally on Wednesday, Egypt’s consultant, who has performed a key function in talks between Israel and the Palestinians, stated the occupation was “a continued violation of worldwide regulation.”
“The implications of Israel’s long-term occupation are clear and there might be no peace, no stability and no prosperity with out upholding the rule of regulation,” stated International Ministry Authorized Adviser Jasmine Moussa.
The hearings started Monday with three hours of testimony from Palestinian officers, who accused the Israeli occupiers of working a system of “colonialism and apartheid.”
Al-Maliki had urged the judges to finish the occupation “instantly, utterly and unconditionally.”
South Africa’s ambassador to the Netherlands instructed the court docket that Israel’s insurance policies have been “extra excessive” than what black South Africans suffered underneath apartheid earlier than 1994.
The case is separate from a high-profile case introduced by Pretoria towards Israel over alleged genocide in the course of the present offensive in Gaza.
In that case, the Worldwide Court docket of Justice dominated that Israel should do all the things in its energy to stop genocidal acts in Gaza and allow humanitarian assist.
