UN court calls Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory ‘illegal’

THE HAGUE: IN A broad decision on Friday, the UN’s top court called Israel’s decades-long occupation of Palestinian territory “illegal” and demanded its immediate cessation.

Israel called the advisory opinion by the Hague-based International Court of Justice a “decision of lies” while the Palestinian leadership hailed it “historic”.

The ICJ’s “advisory opinion” is not binding, but it comes amid growing alarm over Israel’s battle against Hamas, started by the group’s horrific October 7 attacks.

It may also increase diplomatic pressure on Israel, whose parliament voted Thursday to condemn a Palestinian state as a “existential threat”.

ICJ presiding judge Nawaf Salam said: “The court has found… that Israel’s continued presence in the Palestinian Territories is illegal.”

Israel is “under the obligation to bring to an end its unlawful presence as rapidly as possible,” the judge declared in the ICJ’s Peace Palace.