Israel ‘not being held accountable for war crimes,’ Jordanian minister tells ICJ hearing
▶ Israel has exceeded limits of self-defence in Gaza, Irish official says on day four of court hearings in The Hague
Israel is “not being held accountable for its war crimes” against the Palestinian people, Jordan’s Foreign Affairs Minister Ayman Safadi has told the UN’s highest court.
Speaking at the International Court of Justice at The Hague, against the backdrop of the war in Gaza, Mr Safadi said action must be taken.
“Palestinians are being killed in the hundreds every day in Gaza and in the [occupied] West Bank because Israel is not being held accountable of its war crimes and violations of international law,” he said.
Mr Safadi was giving a statement to the panel of 15 judges, on the fourth day of hearings on Thursday.
The hearings call on the ICJ to offer an advisory, non-binding, opinion on the Israeli occupation of Palestine.
They are not directly related to the war in Gaza but follow a 2022 resolution by the UN General Assembly that called on the ICJ to give its opinion.
Also speaking on Thursday, Kuwait’s ambassador to the Netherlands Ali Al Dafiri condemned the “illegal occupation conflict”.
In an emotional speech, during which he paused several times to wipe his eyes, Mr Al Dafiri said this pitted an occupying power, Israel, “equipped with all military means”, against “an occupied nation without defensive capabilities facing daily expulsion”.
Iraq also condemned Israel’s actions, in a statement from Haider Al Barrak, head of the legal department of the Foreign Affairs Ministry.
Mr Al Barrak urged the court “to stop the systematic killing machine against the Palestinian people”.
Further condemnation came from Lebanon’s envoy to the Netherlands, Abdel Sattar Issa.
“Since 1967 Israel has been committing a crime of aggression – illegally occupying territories before annexing them,” he said.
“Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories, its blockade of the Gaza Strip, all of this is an act of aggression,” added Mr Issa.
Senior Chinese official Ma Xinmin told the ICJ that Beijing believes Palestinians have the right to engage in armed struggle because they live under an illegal Israeli occupation.
A record 52 countries have asked to participate in the hearings, which will also hear statements from the Arab League, the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation and the African Union.
Israel has declined to participate in the oral statements but sent a written statement that has not been made public.
Senior Chinese official Ma Xinmin has told the International Court of Justice that Palestinians have the right to engage in armed struggle while living under an illegal occupation.
Israeli policies in occupied territories have breached international humanitarian law, Mr Ma said on Thursday, during hearings into the legality of Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories.
“The Palestinian people fight against Israeli oppression, and their struggle to complete the establishment of an independent state in the occupied territories is essentially just action to restore their legitimate rights,” said Mr Ma, the director general of the department of treaty and law at China’s Foreign Ministry.
He told the ICJ’s panel of 15 judges that armed struggle was distinct from terrorism.
“During legitimate armed struggle, all parties are obliged to comply with international humanitarian law, and in particular, to refrain from committing acts of terrorism.”
For Beijing, an occupying power’s right to self-defence hinges on the legitimacy of its occupation. However, “this does not rule out the possibility for the occupying power … as a last resort to take necessary law enforcement measures … in the occupied territories,” Mr Ma said.
“These acts must stay within the limits cited by international law.”
While other countries’ representatives have not echoed Beijing’s support for Palestinian armed struggle, many of them have criticised Israel’s occupation.
More than 50 countries have requested to give statements at the hearings, which are scheduled to end on Monday.
The court is expected to issue a non-binding advisory opinion in about six months.
Ireland’s representative, Attorney General Rossa Fanning, said Israel had committed “serious breaches” of international law during its occupation.
As well as encouraging the illegal settlement of occupied territories, Israel has applied domestic law in illegal settlements and transferred administration of certain areas from military to civilian control.
During the war in Gaza, Mr Fanning said, Israel had “exceeded” its right to the use of force in self-defence.
“This is manifest from the spiralling death toll, the extensive destruction of property, including homes, throughout Gaza, the displacement of up to two million people and the ensuing humanitarian catastrophe.”
Although the ICJ hearings are unrelated to the war in Gaza, most countries’ representatives have referred to the conflict during their statements.
Representatives of Jordan and Iraq harshly condemned Israel’s actions.
Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said: “Palestinians are being killed in the hundreds every day in Gaza and in the West Bank, because Israel is not being held accountable for its war crimes and violations of international law.”
He urged the court to “rule that this brutality can be no more”.
Hayder Al Barrak, head of the legal department at Iraq’s Foreign Ministry, asked the court “to stop the systematic killing machine against the Palestinian people”.
But Israel’s strongest ally, the US, insisted Israel had the right to self-defence.
“We were all reminded of those security needs on October 7, and they persist,” said Richard Visek, acting legal adviser at the US State Department. “Regrettably, those needs have been ignored by many of the participants.”