Despite U.S. and Israeli attempts to stall the vote, the ICJ is now investigating Israel for the first time in 18 years.
Specifically, the ICJ has also been asked to assess how Israeli practices “affect the legal status of the occupation.” In other words, whether or not Israel’s fifty-five-year belligerent occupation of the Palestinian territories is legal, as occupations are defined under the Fourth Geneva Convention and customary international law.
on Israel’s separation wall — a narrower issue than the questions it has just been asked to consider.In May, the, cited “prima facie credible evidence … that Israel has no intention of ending the occupation, has clear policies for ensuring complete control over the Occupied Palestinian Territory, and is acting to alter the demography through the maintenance of a repressive environment for Palestinians and a favourable environment for Israeli settlers.
Knowing a vote on the floor of the Assembly was unavoidable, Israel and its allies stepped up their game, lobbying to stall a vote on the resolution, to turn yeas into nays or abstentions, or simply to delay a vote until late December, when delegates would be absent, informed sources toldTheir efforts paid off.
The push for financial accounting appeared to be an “attempt by the United States and Israel to reduce the number of votes in favour of the resolution,” an informed source told. The source was not aware of any past demand for financial accountability on an ICJ advisory opinion request.that Israel has been trying to “recruit states to oppose it.” Yair Lapid, the face of liberal democracy and the rule of law in Israel, had written letters to “more than 60 countries,” Lis reported.
An ICJ Advisory Opinion will likely not be rendered before the end of 2023 or early 2024. Israel will surely ignore it, as it did thedecision, and Israel’s Western allies — who favour power politics over international law on Israel-Palestine matters — will have Israel’s back.