Declare occupation illegal, Arab states urge World Court

Arab states urged international judges to rule the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories illegal and Turkiye described the occupation as “the real obstacle to peace” on the final day of hearings in a case examining its legal status.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has been hearing arguments from more than 50 states following a request by the UN General Assembly in 2022 to issue a non-binding opinion on the legal consequences of the Israeli occupation.

On the sixth and last day of hearings, Turkiye’s Deputy Foreign Minister Ahmet Yildiz told judges the occupation was the root cause of conflict in the region.

Yildiz also addressed the Oct 7 attacks by Hamas in Israel, which killed 1,200 people, and Israel’s military response that has since killed more than 29,000 Palestinians.

“The unfolding situation after Oct 7 proves once again that, without addressing the root cause of the Israeli-palestinian conflict, there can be no peace in the region,” he said, describing the occupation of Palestinian territories as “the real obstacle to peace” and urging the judges to declare it illegal.

Israel, which is not taking part in the hearings, has said the court’s involvement could be harmful to achieving a negotiated settlement to the Israelipalestinian conflict, calling the questions posed to the court prejudiced.

The Arab League’s secretarygeneral Ahmed Aboul Gheit described the occupation as “an affront to international justice” in a statement read out in court by a representative.

The vast majority of states who have addressed the hearing at ICJ – also known as the World Court – asked judges to declare the occupation illegal.