At UN court, Palestinians say Israel has enforced ‘colonialism and apartheid’
Israel’s occupation of the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and East Jerusalem denies Palestinians the right of self-determination, is illegal and must be brought to an “immediate, unconditional and total” end, the Palestinian foreign minister told the U.N.’s top court Monday.
Riyad al-Maliki told the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, that Palestinians have endured “colonialism and apartheid” since the occupation began in 1967. Now the world must finally cut off support to Israel, he said.
“No aid. No assistance. No complicity. No contribution to forcible actions. No money, no arms, no trade,” al-Maliki said. “All U.N. Member States are obliged by law to end Israel’s presence on the territory of Palestine.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement saying Israel does not recognize the legitimacy of the proceedings, which he described as an effort “to infringe on Israel’s right to defend itself against existential threats.”
The U.N. General Assembly asked the court for an advisory opinion on the Israeli 57-year occupation and refusal to comply with overwhelming global support for a two-state solution. Netanyahu’s government says it must retain control of security over the territories because Palestinian political leaders have vowed to destroy Israel.
Netanyahu points to the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas-led militants, who killed 1,200 people and seized more than 250 hostages before retreating back to Gaza. Al-Maliki accused Israel of denying Gaza residents desperately needed humanitarian aid with a false claim that the aid was supporting Hamas.
“Israel ... has transformed the Gaza Strip into an impoverished enclave, a strangled, besieged, bombarded community, isolated and severed from the West Bank and East Jerusalem,” alMaliki told the court. “Its leaders have declared that Israel will be sovereign over all the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea and made this formal government policy.”
More than 50 countries are expected to testify during the weeklong hearing. Israel likely will provide a written rebuttal. Judges could take months to issue a nonbinding opinion.
The Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza reported that 29,092 Palestinians have been killed and 69,028 have been wounded since the war began. The ministry numbers don’t differentiate between combatants and civilians, but the ministry says more than 70% of the casualties are women and children.
Meanwhile, Houthi rebels said they shot down a U.S. drone and that a cargo ship they attacked in the Gulf of Aden appeared ready to sink. U.S. Central Command did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the drone.
The U.K.’s Maritime Trade confirmed that the crew of the Rubymar had abandoned ship and said military authorities were providing assistance.
Qatari leader says cease-fire talks are ‘not very promising’
Qatar’s prime minister criticized Netanyahu for asking Qatar officials to pressure Hamas into freeing Israeli hostages.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani added that talks toward a cease-fire and long-term peace deal were “not very promising.”
Qatar, Egypt and the U.S. have spearheaded the talks, and authorities in the three nations have generally kept public comments on the talks positive. But on Monday, Qatar’s foreign ministry spokesman Majed Al-Ansari described Netanyahu’s request as “nothing but a new attempt by him to delay and prolong the war for reasons that have become clear to everyone.”