The International Court of Justice in The Hague (ICJ) rules that Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories is illegal and must cease as soon as possible.
The court's stance is not binding. However, the statement from the UN's highest judicial body carries significant weight on the international political scene, even if it is not expected to have a major impact on Israel's policy.
The Israeli state must put an end to its illegal presence on occupied Palestinian territory as soon as possible, concluded Judge Nawaf Salam as he read out the statement on Friday afternoon.
The 15 judges behind the statement specifically condemn Israel's settlements on the West Bank and in East Jerusalem, its annexations of Palestinian land, and its discriminatory treatment of Palestinians.
First time
Israel captured the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip in the Six-Day War in 1967. Palestinian representatives believe that all three areas belong to Palestine.
The international community has long considered the three areas to be occupied by Israel. However, with Friday's statement, the ICJ takes a stance for the first time that the 57-year-old occupation is illegal.
The statement comes after the court was asked by the UN General Assembly in 2022 to provide its view on the matter. The investigation has been ongoing since the beginning of last year.
"Great day"
The Palestinian Authority on the West Bank describes the ICJ's statement as a "great day for Palestine".
This is the world's highest judicial body that has now presented a detailed analysis of what is happening through Israel's long occupation and colonization of Palestinian territory in violation of international law, says Foreign Ministry spokesperson Varsen Aghabekian Shahin to AFP news agency.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on the other hand, calls the statement a "decision of lies".
"The Jewish people are not occupiers in their own land", he says in a statement.
Settler influence
The settler movement has significant influence in Netanyahu's hard-line government. Israeli authorities recently approved the confiscation of 12.7 square kilometers of land in the Jordan Valley on the West Bank.
According to the Israeli peace organization Peace Now, it is the largest area Israel has taken in 30 years.
In a separate case, Israel is being investigated by the ICJ after South Africa accused the country of violating the Genocide Convention.
The International Court of Justice in The Hague (ICJ) is the UN's highest court and handles disputes between states.
The ICJ was established when the UN Charter came into force in 1945. Its judgments and decisions are legally binding for states that have joined – including Israel – but in practice, the possibilities of ensuring compliance are limited.
The current chief judge is American jurist Joan E Donoghue.
