Palestinians hail ICJ ruling in rejection of Israeli presence in occupied territories
Palestinian groups have lauded the ruling by the top UN court, International Court of Justice (ICJ), that rejects the presence of Israeli regime on the occupied Palestinian territories.
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The United Nations top court announced the decision on Friday concerning the 230-plus settlements that have been built in the West Bank, including East al-Quds, since the regime’s occupation of the Palestinian territory in 1967.
The court noted that the construction and existence of the structures on the territory amounted to its "de facto annexation" as well as possible "discrimination and apartheid."
Though non-binding and of simply advisory nature, the court’s recommendations mount further legal pressure on the occupying entity, and are hoped by Palestinians and its supporters to be adopted by the UN General Assembly and Security Council.
The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas said the decision “affirmed the illegitimacy of the Zionist occupation and the need to end it.”
“We call on the international community to embrace these decisions, bypass the American will [to protect the regime against such decisions], and work to compel the fascist occupation to implement them and comply immediately,” it added.
The Popular Resistance Committees, a coalition of Palestinian resistance groups, welcomed the development, but also underlined the regime’s track record of obstinate non-compliance with such decisions.
“The decisions of the International Court of Justice need a genuine will and real action for their implementation, starting with the imposition of a boycott on the Zionist entity leading to the accountability and punishment of its criminal leaders,” the coalition said.
The Palestinian Mujahideen Movement called the decision “a positive step that contributes to the isolation of the fascist Zionist entity,” describing the Israeli regime’s existence on the Palestinian land as “invalid.”
The group, meanwhile, noted that such decisions “will remain incomplete unless our people gain their freedom, return to their homes from which they were displaced, and rid themselves of the occupation.”
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a major component of the Palestine Liberation Organization umbrella group, also voiced its appreciation of the decision.
“This decision represents a significant development in the positions of international organizations, as it is rare for an international organization to issue such a comprehensive and precise decision in describing the violations and crimes of the occupation in the occupied Palestinian territories,” the front said in a statement.
The front, however, likewise reminded the Israeli regime’s history of consistent refusal to abide by such decisions. It cited Tel Aviv’s brushing off of the orders that had been issued by the court on it to cease its genocidal practices in the Gaza Strip, which has been enduring an Israeli war since October.
