Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the opinion issued this Friday by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, which he described as illegal., The president responded, “The Jewish people are not conquerors in their own land.”,
“No wrong decision in The Hague will distort this historical truth, just as the legitimacy of Israeli settlements in all areas of our land cannot be questioned”The Israeli leader was compromised via his X account (formerly Twitter).
Thus, Netanyahu denies the illegitimacy of Israel’s occupation of East Jerusalem (recognized as Palestinian territory according to the 1967 borders, which Israel definitively occupied in 1980) and the West Bank.
The political leader also referred to this latter region as the land of “Judea and Samaria”, referring to the Biblical terms commonly used by the settlers.
The country’s President Isaac Herzog also criticized the ICJ’s opinion, which he accused of “undermining any notion of progress in negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.” Likewise, he appealed to the “historic connection” of the Jewish people with the region.
Israel: ICJ opinion is “distorted, one-sided and wrong”
For his part, the Israeli Foreign Minister, Israel Katz, issued a statement Called the ICJ opinion “fundamentally distorted, one-sided and wrong”,
Katz, like Netanyahu or Herzog, appealed to the “historic rights of the Jewish people in the Land of Israel” and accused the Court of being too out of touch with the present. Not taking into account the security threats Israel is experiencing (referring to Hamas, Iran, and “other terrorist elements”) or the genocide,
“The State of Israel observes the rule of law and is committed to international law”He said so saying The country will do “whatever is necessary to protect its citizens in accordance with international law”,
These statements do not match the ruling of the International Court of Justice, which held that Israeli settlement policies and their practices of exploiting natural resources in the occupied Palestinian territories “violate international law.”
For this reason, the ICJ urged Israel to return “land and other immovable property” confiscated from Palestinians since the occupation began, ignoring the borders recognized by the United Nations in 1967.
Netanyahu’s ultra ministers demand merger
The government’s extremist and anti-Arab ministers, Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, in charge of national security and finance respectively, quickly reacted to the decision by posting slogans on their social networks demanding a merger.
“The Hague’s answer: sovereignty,” Smotrich wrote. At the same time, Ben Gvir turned to a biblical text to respond to the court’s decision: “Look at a people who live apart, and who will not be recognized among the nations.”
Just this Friday it was announced that Israel will have administrative control of the so-called “Zone B” of the West Bank (until now controlled by the Palestinian National Authority).In another controversial decision that contributes to the idea of a de facto annexation of the region.
After Israel’s Central Command signed two orders, officials selected by Smotrich (who is also in charge of settlement administration) would have the ability to demolish Palestinian buildings in the area,
For its part, the Yesha Council, the body that brings together all settlements in the occupied West Bank, also called for annexation, calling on the United States to “start applying sovereignty” over “Judea and Samaria” (the West Bank).
“This is a decision contrary to justice, contrary to the Bible, morality and international law” Council Chairman Israel Ganz said.
Human rights organizations applaud
Israeli human rights organisations B’Tselem and Peace Now praised the ICJ’s opinion, which they saw as an opportunity to make their point. “End of the occupation”,
“Over the past 57 years, Israel has demonstrated that it has no intention of ending its occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem.”B’Tselem condemned the incident, calling on the international community to use every tool at its disposal to end the occupation, whether criminal, diplomatic or economic.
Today, around 500,000 residents live in the occupied West Bank, and if occupied East Jerusalem is also included the number rises to around 700,000.