On 19 July 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) delivered its landmark Advisory Opinion on Legal Consequences Arising from the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem. The European Union (EU) and its Member States are obligated to act and enforce the findings of the Court. The urgency of this action cannot be overstated, as the situation on the ground has escalated dramatically since the issuance of the opinion, particularly in light of the surging death toll in Gaza and the alarming increase in settler violence[1] and construction of new settlements[2] in the West Bank.
We welcome the Advisory Opinion, in which the ICJ found that Israel’s continued presence in the occupied Palestinian Territory (oPt) is unlawful and must end ‘as rapidly as possible’, as it constitutes a violation of the Palestinian right to self-determination and the international prohibition of territorial acquisition resulting from the threat or use of force. The Court also found that Israel must immediately stop all new settlement activities, evacuate all settlers, and return the land and other immovable property, as well as provide reparations to all natural and legal persons damaged in the course of the occupation. Moreover, the Court concluded that Israel is in a breach of Article 3[3] of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD), which prohibits racial segregation and apartheid.
The Court addressed the legal consequences for all States, affirming that States must act upon their legal obligations to ensure that this unlawful occupation is brought to an immediate end. Specifically, the Court found that all States, including the EU and its Member States, are under an obligation of:
‘not to recognize as legal the situation arising from the unlawful presence of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory… not to render aid or assistance in maintaining the situation created by Israel’s illegal presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory…, to ensure that any impediment resulting from the illegal presence of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory to the exercise of the Palestinian people of its right to self-determination is brought to an end (…) and all the States parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention have the obligation (…) to ensure compliance by Israel with international humanitarian law as embodied in that Convention.’ (para 279)
Reaffirming the EU’s ‘unwavering commitment to all ICJ decisions’, VP Borrell stated that the ‘Advisory Opinion will need to be analysed more thoroughly, including in view of its implications for EU policy’. Therefore, based on the legal conclusions of the Court, the EU and its Member States must, at the very least, impose a two-way arms embargo on Israel; ban trade with illegal settlements in the oPt, suspend all trade agreement that directly or indirectly benefit the Israeli unlawful occupation, and suspend its Association Agreements with Israel based on Article 2 of the 2000 Agreement treaty, which requires the agreement to be based on human rights and democratic principles, which Israel have been found to be in violation of by the ICJ. Moreover, the EU and its Member States must address Prime Minister Netanyahu’s rejection of the ICJ Advisory Opinion as a direct challenge to the international legal order, which cannot be ignored. The EU and its Member States must undertake immediate and urgent action to impose a ceasefire in Gaza, where the plausibility of genocide against Palestinians has already been established by the Court in January 2024.
Signatories:
Al Haq
Al Mezan
CNCD-11.11.11
DIGNITY
CIHRS
EuroMed Rights
PCHR
Palestinian Human Rights Organization (PHRO)
Women’s Center for Legal Aid and Counselling (WCLAC)
[1] https://www.ochaopt.org/page/settler-related-violence
[2]https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/17/revealed-israel-has-sped-up-settlement-building-in-east-jerusalem-since-gaza-war-began
[3] https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/cerd.pdf