The top United Nations court has ruled that Israel’s settlement policies and use of natural resources in the occupied Palestinian territories violate international law.
The ICJ president, Nawaf Salam, was reading out the court’s full opinion in a Friday session expected to take about an hour.
It has annexed East Jerusalem in a move that is not recognised internationally, while it withdrew from Gaza in 2005 but maintained a blockade of the territory after Hamas took power in 2007.
It submitted written comments, saying that the questions put to the court were prejudiced and “fail to recognise Israel’s right and duty to protect its citizens”, address Israeli security concerns or acknowledge Israel-Palestinian agreements to negotiate issues, including “the permanent status of the territory, security arrangements, settlements, and borders”.
Palestinian residents of the city face systematic discrimination, making it difficult for them to build new homes or expand existing ones.
The international community considers all settlements to be illegal or obstacles to peace since they are built on lands sought by the Palestinians for their state.
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