The ICJ Did Not Describe Israel an Illegal State

Misbar investigated the viral claim and found it to be misleading. The ICJ did not declare Israel as an illegal state.

The International Court of Justice Declares The Israeli Occupation as Illegal

Misbar’s team reviewed the entire published video and did not find any mention of the state of Israel.

The ICJ declaration requires essential background. Israel claims sovereignty over the whole of Jerusalem. The vast majority of the international community does not accept this occupation.

In light of the ongoing Israeli war on Gaza, and as all eyes are diverted to it, Israeli settlers exploited the lack of global attention on the West Bank to expel Palestinians from their lands. Israeli settlements are now taking over the West Bank.

The ICJ decision was intended for these settlements and the occupation of the Palestinian lands.

In the viral video, Riyad Al Malki, the Palestinian foreign minister, could be seen referring to Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories in the West Bank.

Al Malki said that the court declared that “all Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory are illegal and must be dismantled and all Israeli settlers shall be evacuated.”

Misbar also reviewed the official ICJ document containing its findings. The court regarded Israel’s presence in the Occupied Palestinian territories as illegal.

Several international parties and credible media outlets commented and reported on the court’s decision.

Amnesty International commented on the decision describing it as a historic vindication of Palestinians’ rights. It stressed Israel’s occupation, not Israel itself. 

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights also commented on the court’s declaration hailing it and describing it as “historic” for Palestinians and international law. The organization also referred to the Israeli occupation, without mentioning the state of Israel.

Furthermore, BBC reported on the court decision, mentioning the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories, not Israel.

Misbar concluded that social media users misunderstood the ICJ declaration.

Why is the ICJ Declaration of the Illegality of the Israeli Occupation Important?

The Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories is a key pillar of the system of apartheid that Israel uses to dominate and oppress Palestinians.

Although the court’s advisory opinion is not legally binding, regarding the Israeli occupation as illegal still carries significant political weight to the Palestinians and international law.

The court’s declaration was the first position the ICJ has taken on the legality of the 57-year occupation.

The ICJ opinion came at a critical time when Israel has been breaching international humanitarian law since the onslaught of its genocidal war on Gaza on October 7, 2023, killing civilians and bombing the houses and the infrastructure on a large scale in the Gaza Strip, as well as escalating illegal land grabs in the occupied West Bank simultaneously.

The Israeli Response to the ICJ Declaration

Upon the ICJ decoration, Israel’s prime minister issued a statement rejecting what the court determined, saying that the “Jewish people are not occupiers in their own land,” describing the West Bank as the ancestral heritage of the Jewish and calling it by the Israeli name “Judea and Samaria.”

He further described the ICJ declaration as absurd.

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