The United States stressed this Wednesday before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the highest UN court based in The Hague, Netherlands, that it should not order the unconditional withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Palestinian territories because it would threaten the security of Israelis.
Since Monday, the high court has been hearing the opinion of several countries, including a Palestinian delegation and with the exception of Israel, on the request sent to it by the UN General Assembly in 2022 to issue a non-binding opinion on the legal consequences. of the Israeli occupation.
While the court was not asked to issue an opinion on the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the occupied territories, many states that participated in the hearings have called on Israel to do so. Israel, which is not participating, has argued in written statements that the tribunal’s participation could be detrimental to reaching a negotiated settlement.
“Any move toward Israel’s withdrawal from the West Bank and Gaza requires consideration of Israel’s very real security needs. “October 7 (Hamas attack) reminded us all of those security needs, which still persist,” said the US representative, Richard Visek, in hearings that analyze the legal consequences of Israeli practices and policies in the Palestinian territories. busy.
More than 50 states will present arguments until February 26. So did South Africa on Tuesday, which brought Israel before the same court in December with accusations that it violated the Geneva Convention in a case that led judges in January to ask Israel to stop the killing of civilians in Gaza and to do so. to reach humanitarian aid to the Palestinians, as precautionary measures. Russia and France are scheduled to speak later Wednesday.
On Monday, Palestinian representatives asked judges to declare Israel’s occupation of their territory illegal and stressed that their opinion could help reach a two-state solution.
“The Hamas attack, hostage-taking and other atrocities, ongoing hostilities, the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza, and violence in the West Bank urge the United States to achieve a final peace that includes the realization of Palestinian self-determination. “The current crisis illustrates the vital need to achieve this final peace of a Palestinian State living safely alongside a secure and fully integrated Israel in the region,” he assured.
However, he considered that this conflict “cannot be resolved with violence or unilateral actions, negotiations are the way,” and urged the ICJ to “carefully calibrate its advice in this procedure to support and promote a final realization of peace and stability.” ” within the framework of the resolutions of the UN Security Council.
In response to countries that have intervened in the hearings and criticized US support for Israeli practices in Palestine, Visek assured that the United States has “repeatedly declared its strong opposition to any unilateral attempt to change the peacefully established status of territories by force.” or coercion, anywhere in the world” and stated that “the occupation of territory by force is prohibited.”
The judges are expected to take approximately six months to issue their opinion on the request, which also asks them to consider the legal status of the occupation and its consequences for states.
Israel ignored a World Court opinion in 2004 when it ruled that Israel’s separation wall in the West Bank violated international law and should be dismantled. Instead, it has been expanded.
Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem – areas of historic Palestine that Palestinians want for a state – in the 1967 conflict. It withdrew from Gaza in 2005, but, along with neighboring Egypt, still controls its borders. Israeli leaders have long disputed that the territories are formally occupied on the basis that they were captured from Jordan and Egypt during the 1967 war and not from a sovereign Palestine.
