Israel’s 57-year-old occupation of East Jerusalem and the West Bank is illegal under international law, the UN’s highest court said on Friday, casting the Jewish state’s conduct towards Palestinians living under its military’s control as a decades-long violation of their rights.
In a series of findings, the ICJ ruled that almost every aspect of Israeli policy in the West Bank was illegal, from the creation and support of sprawling settlements to the application of discriminatory laws and of Israeli sovereignty over East Jerusalem.
“Israel’s continued presence in the occupied territories is unlawful,” said the opinion backed by a majority of judges at the International Court of Justice. “It should be brought to an end as rapidly as possible.”