The International Court of Justice (ICJ), the United Nations’ top court, ruled on Friday (19) that Israel’s settlements in the West Bank, as well as its presence in East Jerusalem, are illegal occupations of Palestinian territory and must be stopped.
In its ruling, the ICJ said such actions amounted to “violations of international law.” “The court notes with great concern reports that Israel’s settlement policy has expanded since the court’s 2004 advisory opinion,” it said, citing a previous ruling that had condemned such actions by Israel.
The ICJ noted that Israel must “immediately cease all new settlement activity and evacuate all settlers from the occupied Palestinian territory” and has “the obligation to make reparation for the damage caused to all affected natural or legal persons in the occupied Palestinian territory.”
In a statement, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized the ICJ’s decision.
“The Jewish people are not conquerors in their own land – neither in our eternal capital, Jerusalem, nor in the land of our ancestors in Judea and Samaria,” he said, using the biblical names for the West Bank.
“No false decisions in The Hague [cidade na Holanda onde fica a sede da CIJ] will distort this historical truth and, similarly, the legality of Israeli settlements in all territories of our homeland cannot be challenged,” he added.
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