The International Court of Justice affirmed that Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem are "illegal"

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague ruled Friday that Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem constitute an"illegal"occupation. 

Lebanese Nawaf Salam, president of the ICJ, read for about an hour and a half the main points of the decision which, like the rest of the court's determinations, is non-binding.

Salam stated that "the settlements are illegal and Israel's actions in the West Bank constitute an annexation" of the territories.

The judge further stated that Israel must "terminate its illegal presence in the occupied Palestinian territories as soon as possible," remove the existing settlements and pay compensation for damages.

The case was taken up by the ICJ after the UN General Assembly passed a resolution on December 31, 2022, asking it to provide its opinion on the "legal consequences" of the Israeli presence in what it considers "occupied Palestinian territory" since the 1967 Six-Day War. According to the General Assembly, this includes part of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza.

The ICJ maintained that Israeli policies in those territories, which include the construction and expansion of settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, control of the area and other measures it considers discriminatory toward Palestinians, "violate international law.”

While Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005, forcibly evacuating thousands of Israelis living in settlements in the Strip, it has maintained a blockade on that territory for security reasons since Hamas took power in 2007, a decision that Egypt has also taken and maintains today. However, Salam criticized Israel noting that its withdrawal from Gaza "has not removed its obligations as an occupying power."

Netanyahu: "The Jewish people are not occupiers in their own land"

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took aim at the ICJ decision. “The Jewish people are not occupiers in their own land, including in our eternal capital Jerusalem nor in Judea and Samaria, our historical homeland. No absurd opinion in the Hague can deny this historical truth or the legal right of Israelis to live in their own communities in our ancestral home,” he said. 

Danny Danon, who will soon be appointed Israel's ambassador to the UN, said, "The decision by the International Court of Justice in The Hague, which attempts to deny our right to our ancestral lands in Israel, is indeed unfortunate but expected. Unfortunately, this 'court' has long since turned into a political circus and is now a stronghold of Hamas supporters. The State of Israel will never relinquish its historical right to our land. This is the foundation of our existence here."