Palestinian diplomat accuses Israel of apartheid and asks UN court to declare its occupation illegal
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The Palestinian overseas minister on Monday accused Israel of apartheid and urged the United Nations’ prime court docket to declare that Israel’s occupation of lands looked for a Palestinian state is illegitimate and should finish instantly and unconditionally for any hope for a two-state future to outlive.
The remarks got here at historic hearings into the legality of Israel’s 57-year occupation. The case opened in opposition to the backdrop of the Israel-Hamas struggle, which instantly turned a focus of the day — although the hearings had been meant to middle on Israel’s open-ended management over the occupied West Financial institution, the Gaza Strip and annexed east Jerusalem.
Palestinian International Affairs Minister Riad Malki advised the Worldwide Courtroom of Justice that “2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza, half of them kids, are besieged and bombed, killed and maimed, starved and displaced.”
“Greater than 3.5 million Palestinians within the West Financial institution, together with in Jerusalem, are subjected to colonization of their territory and racist violence that allows it,” he added.
Worldwide regulation professional Paul Reichler, representing the Palestinians, advised the court docket that the insurance policies of Israel’s authorities “are aligned to an unprecedented extent with the objectives of the Israeli settler motion to increase long run management over the occupied West Financial institution, together with East Jerusalem, and in apply to additional combine these areas throughout the territory” of Israel.
The hearings observe a request by the U.N. Normal Meeting for a non-binding advisory opinion into Israel’s insurance policies within the occupied territories. Judges will probably take months to difficulty an opinion.
Israel’s representatives weren’t scheduled to talk however submitted a five-page letter to the court docket final July that was revealed after Monday’s listening to.
Within the letter, Israel mentioned that the questions put to the court docket are prejudiced and “fail to acknowledge Israel’s proper and obligation to guard its residents,” deal with Israeli safety issues or acknowledge Israel-Palestinians agreements to barter points, together with “the everlasting standing of the territory, safety preparations, settlements, and borders.”
“Whereas the request made to the Courtroom seeks to painting it as such, the Israeli-Palestinian battle will not be a cartoon narrative of villain and sufferer through which there are not any Israeli rights and no Palestinian obligations,” it mentioned. “Entertaining such a falsehood can solely push the events additional aside fairly than assist create situations to deliver them nearer collectively.”
In court docket, Malki cited the proper to self-determination enshrined within the U.N. constitution as he advised judges that “for many years, the Palestinian individuals have been denied this proper and have endured each colonialism and apartheid.”
The Palestinians argue that Israel, by annexing giant swaths of occupied land, has violated the prohibition on territorial conquest and the Palestinians’ proper to self-determination, and has imposed a system of racial discrimination and apartheid.
“This occupation is annexation and supremacist in nature,” Malki mentioned and appealed to the court docket to uphold the Palestinian proper to self-determination and declare “that the Israeli occupation is illegitimate and should finish instantly, completely and unconditionally.”
After the listening to, Malki mentioned that the court docket’s opinion may enhance possibilities for peace. “This ruling may assist each Palestinians and Israelis to lastly reside facet by facet in peace, mutual safety and dignity,” he advised reporters.
An unprecedented 51 international locations and three worldwide organizations will deal with the court docket within the coming days.
Palestinians and main rights teams argue that the occupation goes far past defensive measures. They are saying it has morphed into an apartheid system, bolstered by settlement constructing on occupied lands, that offers Palestinians second-class standing and is designed to keep up Jewish hegemony from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea. Israel rejects any accusation of apartheid.
Israel captured the West Financial institution, east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip within the 1967 Mideast struggle. The Palestinians search all three areas for an impartial state. Israel considers the West Financial institution to be disputed territory, whose future ought to be determined in negotiations.
It has constructed 146 settlements throughout the West Financial institution, in keeping with watchdog group Peace Now, a lot of which resemble totally developed suburbs and small cities. The settlements are house to greater than 500,000 Jewish settlers, whereas round 3 million Palestinians reside within the territory.
Israel annexed east Jerusalem and considers the complete metropolis to be its capital. An extra 200,000 Israelis reside in settlements inbuilt east Jerusalem that Israel considers to be neighborhoods of its capital. Palestinian residents of the town face systematic discrimination, making it troublesome for them to construct new houses or increase present ones.
Israel withdrew all of its troopers and settlers from Gaza in 2005, however continued to regulate the territory’s airspace, shoreline and inhabitants registry. Israel and Egypt imposed a blockade on Gaza when the Palestinian militant Hamas group seized energy there in 2007.
The worldwide group overwhelmingly considers the settlements to be unlawful. Israel’s annexation of east Jerusalem, house to the town’s most delicate holy websites, will not be internationally acknowledged.
It’s not the primary time the court docket has been requested to offer an advisory opinion on Israeli insurance policies.
In 2004, it mentioned a separation barrier Israel constructed by way of east Jerusalem and elements of the West Financial institution was “opposite to worldwide regulation.” It additionally referred to as on Israel to right away halt building. Israel has ignored the ruling.
Additionally, late final month, the court docket ordered Israel to do all it may possibly to stop loss of life, destruction and any acts of genocide in its marketing campaign in Gaza. The order got here at a preliminary stage of a case filed by South Africa accusing Israel of genocide, a cost that Israel denied.
Palestinian U.N. Ambassador Riyad Mansour, at occasions overcome with emotion, concluded Monday’s listening to with an impassioned plea to the 15-judge panel to “information the worldwide group in upholding worldwide regulation, ending injustice and attaining a simply and lasting peace.”
He urged judges to “information us in direction of a future through which Palestinian kids are handled as kids, not as (a) demographic menace, through which the identification of the group to which we belong doesn’t diminish the human rights to which we’re all entitled.”
___
Discover extra of AP’s protection at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war