What the 'Advisory Opinion' of the ICJ Says about Israel's Occupation of Palestinian Territory: Tom McDermott

The recent 'advisory opinion' of the International Court of Justice is one of the most important of recent times. The ICJ's opinion arrived last Friday, 19 July, with barely a ripple in the international news.

It is a well-known principle of journalism that contraversial decisions on contentious issues will be released on a Friday amidst other major stories. The tactic often works well for politicians who hope that a weekend of sports and recreation will allow a controversy to be forgotten or at least die down by Monday morning when the news cycle will have moved on to other stories. Burying a controversial story was not likely the Court's intention, but if it was, they couldn't have chosen a better weekend.

In this particular weekend, there were plenty of other stories to move on to - in the US an attempted assassination and the decision of the President not to seek re-election. Outside the US there were also plenty of news stories to distract readers, many of whom have likely tired of the horrifying stories coming out of Gaza.

For anyone with ties to the UN, however, the ICJ's opinion needs full attention. For over 75 years now questions of the legal status of Palestine and the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands have been front and center. Finally, the Court has given us a firm and clear judgment on the question - one that stands outside the political maneuvering that has characterized the past decades.

I see this as a 'watershed' moment for the UN and for the world.  Note that the opinion is not only about what Israel should do, but about the obligation of other states not to recognize or support  the illegal occupation of territory.  Finally, it calls on the UN and its bodies to consider how to bring an end as quickly as possible the occupation.

The advisory opinion is 86 pages long and not likely for anyone 's casual reading.

So a quick recap of the steps that brought us here and the key points of the Court's opinion :

1.  General Assembly Resolution 77/247 was adopted asking the ICJ to give a clear opinion on Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory. By itself, this resolution was historic. The Assembly chose to by-pass the deadlocked Security Council in seeking directly from the Court an opinion on which to base future action by the United Nations.

2. On January 17th, the Secretary-General formally requested that the ICJ consider the issues and state a legal opinion on the questions posed by the General Assembly.

3. On July 19th the Court issue its opinion, as follows:

In its Advisory Opinion, the Court responds to the questions posed by the General Assembly by concluding 

- that:the State of Israel’s continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is unlawful;
- the State of Israel is under an obligation to bring to an end its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory as rapidly as possible;
- the State of Israel is under an obligation to cease immediately all new settlement activities, and to evacuate all settlers from the Occupied Palestinian Territory;
- the State of Israel has the obligation to make reparation for the damage caused to all the natural or legal persons concerned in the Occupied Palestinian Territory;
- all States are under an obligation not to recognize as legal the situation arising from the unlawful presence of the State of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and not to render aid or assistance in maintaining the situation created by the continued presence of the State of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory;
- international organizations, including the United Nations, are under an obligation not to recognize as legal the situation arising from the unlawful presence of the State of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory; and
- the United Nations, and especially the General Assembly, which requested the opinion, and the Security Council, should consider the precise modalities and further action required to bring to an end as rapidly as possible the unlawful presence of the State of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

Click here for the full advisory opinion of the Court