Hearings at the International Court of Justice continue until the 26th of this month (Reuters)
Today, Friday, the hearings held by the International Court of Justice in The Hague continued to discuss the legal consequences arising from Israel’s policies and practices in the occupied Palestinian territories.
On the fifth day of the sessions, representatives of a number of countries deliberated on the platform, and the representative of the Sultanate of Oman said that the Israeli occupation is working to change the demographic composition of the occupied territories, and stressed that the world witnessed today one of the worst atrocities committed in the Gaza Strip.
The Omani official said that the Palestinians have been living under occupation, oppression and daily humiliation for 75 years, and demanded that Israel’s violation of the right to self-determination of the Palestinians be examined, and that all activities that prevent the Palestinians from exercising their right be put to an end.
For his part, the representative of Norway said that the apartheid wall erected by Israel is a violation of international law and makes the two-state solution difficult to achieve, and stressed that Israel is violating international law and continues to violate it.
He accused Israel of exploiting natural resources to perpetuate its occupation of Palestinian lands. He considered it illegal to annex any Palestinian lands or impose a fait accompli on the ground. He said that establishing settlements in Palestinian lands violates Article 416 of the Geneva Convention.
Disrespect for the court
On the other hand, Michael Lynk, the former United Nations rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied in 1967, said that Israel does not respect the International Court of Justice by not participating in the hearings.
Israel was among the countries that submitted written statements to the court by the deadline set on July 25, 2023, and decided not to participate in the oral hearings, according to information contained on the United Nations website.
Link told Anadolu that the participation of 55 countries and international organizations in the hearings at the International Court of Justice is “historic,” and he considered that the main reason behind Israel’s avoidance of participating in the hearings is that it does not have an answer to the accusations against it.
He added, "I think the biggest reason is that Israel knows that the arguments it is making about annexation (lands), preventing the right to self-determination, and systematic discrimination against the Palestinians will not work, and it does not have any concrete political and legal answers to that."
The International Court of Justice sessions will be held between February 19 and 26, during which 52 countries will make statements about the legal consequences of Israeli practices in the occupied Palestinian territories, along with the League of Arab States, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and the African Union.
Source: Al Jazeera + agencies