South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Ronald Lamola
The International Court of Justice’s advisory opinion shows that states “must isolate the State of Israel for continuing to… practise apartheid in Palestine,” South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Ronald Lamola has said in a statement.
“The people of the world helped us to fight against apartheid. This ruling also called for the people of the world to help the people of Palestine, Gaza [and the] West Bank to fight this enduring apartheid by the state of Israel,” Lamola said.
Lamola added that the court’s opinion also showed that Israel’s argument that it was acting in self-defence did not hold.
“This ruling clearly shows that an occupier can’t act in self-defence,” he said.
The World Court’s ruling on Friday came following a 2022 request from the UN General Assembly and 49 submissions from member states, including South Africa.
South Africa has also separately brought another case before the ICJ, alleging that Israel is committing genocide in its war on Gaza.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Friday issued an advisory opinion finding Israel’s decades-long occupation of the Palestinian territories to be “unlawful” and settlement policies and exploitation of natural resources are in breach of international law.
ICJ, the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, was delivering its Advisory Opinion concerning the “Legal Consequences arising from the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem”.
President Nawaf Salam said that Israel must make reparations to Palestinians for damages caused by its occupation, adding that the UN Security Council, the General Assembly and all states must not recognise Israel’s occupation as legal.
This is considered a landmark advisory opinion, which is nonbinding but will still have implications.
Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the court’s decision as “false,” adding that “the Jewish people do not “occupy their own land.”
“Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and the regime associated with them, have been established and are being maintained in violation of international law,” Salam said, reading the findings of a 15-judge panel.
“The sustained abuse of Israel of its position as an occupying power through annexation and an assertion of permanent control over the occupied Palestinian territory and continued frustration of the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination violates fundamental principles of international law and renders Israel’s presence in the occupied Palestinian territory unlawful.”
Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem – areas of historic Palestine which the Palestinians want for a state – in a 1967 war and has since built settlements in the West Bank and steadily expanded them.
Source link : https://maktoobmedia.com/gaza-genocide/icj-ruling-calls-on-people-to-fight-israeli-apartheid-south-africa/
Author :
Publish date : 2024-07-21 05:01:59
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.