The International Court of Justice, the body that rules on whether or not a state is committing war crimes, just released a groundbreaking advisory opinion saying Israel’s settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem violate international law. In the opinion, the ICJ focused entirely on the West Bank and East Jerusalem and excluded “conduct by Israel in the Gaza Strip” since October 7th, 2023. Still, the court noted that Israel’s 2005 withdrawal from Gaza “has not entirely released it of its obligations under the law of occupation” to those living in the strip. On July 18th, the day before the court issued its opinion, Israel’s legislature voted overwhelmingly against the possibility of establishing a Palestinian state. (The US makes a habit of ignoring ICC and ICJ rulings, and has recently threatened to sanction the court for going against its interests.)

Source: International New York Times July 20, 2024 06:34 UTC