Illegal occupation – On 30 December 2022 the UN General Assembly resolved to ask the International Court of Justice for an ‘advisory opinion’ on the legal consequences of Israel’s occupation of Gaza, the West Bank and the Golan Heights in Syria (all seized in 1967). The court can deliver an advisory opinion without there being a dispute between governments. Many governments filed written arguments and there was a week-long hearing at the end of February. The ‘advisory opinion’ was finally delivered on 19 July 2024 and concludes that Israel’s occupation of the ‘Occupied Palestinian Territories’ (ie West Bank, East Jerusalem, Gaza and the Golan Heights) is unlawful. You can follow the case, including all the documents and the televised hearings from HERE.
Genocide – The South African government broke new ground in January by filing a complaint against Israel at the International Court of Justice. They invited the court to find that Israel is committing genocide and asked for urgent ‘provisional measures’ (the equivalent of an injunction) to stop the military campaign. All the formal case documents including orders can be accessed HERE. The case was presented on 11 January 2024 and you can watch it on youtube HERE. As most media (including the BBC) failed to broadcast it live, actors (including some from Game of Thrones!) have recited the written case and you can access it from HERE. The Israeli reply was the following day (and was broadcast live on BBC);you can watch it on youtube HERE. You can sign a petition in support of the application HERE.
The court issued its first ruling on 26 January 2024. You can read it in full HERE. In summary, it accepted that the case was brought within the rules of the court and concluded that the evidence provided by South Africa was ‘plausible’. It decreed a number of provisional measures. Although it did not call specifically for a ceasefire, it was a strong ruling, as it included an explicit direction to stop killing Palestinians. The Israeli government was required to file a report within a month, detailing progress.
Since then the South African government on 6 March filed a further application for provisional measures; the Israeli government filed a response and a further ruling was issued on 28 March. Again the Israeli government is directed to file a reply within a month. A further hearing took place on 16 and 17 May at which a further review of the case was requested by South Africa. You can follow the case and read the documents from HERE. The judgment, delivered on 24 May 2024, was a definitive order that Israel end its offensive in Rafah, to open the Rafah crossing and facilitate UN investigations. The order can be read HERE.
As something of a follow-up, the Nicaraguan government has taken a case against Germany for aiding and abetting genocide. The Nicaraguan application for provisional measures was rejected on 19 July 2024, the German government arguing that its arms exports to Israel had dropped substantially. A timetable has been set for the hearing of the case which will not be until the middle of 2026 at the earliest. You can follow the case from HERE.
See the long statement from Palestine Solidarity Campaign HERE.
In the face of so many countries disregarding international rulings, a new ‘Hague group’ has on 31 January 2025 been formed by nine governments (Belize, Bolivia, Colombia, Cuba, Honduras, Malaysia, Namibia, Senegal and South Africa). Their opening declaration is HERE.