The UN’s top court has said that Israel’s presence in the occupied Palestinian territories is illegal and must end.

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The International Court of Justice on Friday said Israel’s presence in the occupied Palestinian territories is “illegal” and called on it to end and halt settlement construction immediately, issuing an unprecedented and sweeping condemnation of Israel’s rule over territory it occupied 57 years ago.

In a non-binding opinion, the ICJ cited a wide range of policies, including the construction and expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, the use of natural resources in the area, the annexation and permanent control of territory and discriminatory policies against Palestinians, all of which it said violated international law.

The 15-judge panel said Israel’s “abuse of its status as an occupying power” renders its “presence in the occupied Palestinian territory illegal.” Its continued presence is “illegal” and must end “with the utmost urgency,” it added.

The 83-page opinion, read by Chief Justice Nawaf Salam, said Israel must end settlement construction immediately and existing settlements must be removed.

Israel, which considers the United Nations and international courts unfair and biased, did not send a legal team to the hearings. But it submitted written comments, saying the questions posed to the court were biased and did not address Israeli security concerns. Israeli officials said the court’s involvement would undermine the peace process, which has been stagnant for more than a decade.

In response to the ruling, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the West Bank and East Jerusalem were part of the Jewish people’s historic “homeland.”

“The Jewish people are not victorious in their own land – neither in our eternal capital Jerusalem nor in the land of our ancestors in Judea and Samaria,” Netanyahu said in a post on the social networking site X. “No wrong decision in The Hague will distort this historical truth, and likewise the legitimacy of Israeli settlement in all the lands of our homeland cannot be challenged.”

The court’s opinion, requested by the UN General Assembly at the Palestinians’ request, is unlikely to affect Israeli policy. But its broad scope — including the view that Israel cannot claim sovereignty over Palestinian territory and is impeding the Palestinians’ right to self-determination — could influence international opinion.

This came against the backdrop of Israel’s devastating 10-month military assault on Gaza, which was triggered by Hamas-led attacks in southern Israel. In a separate case, the International Court of Justice is considering a claim from South Africa that Israel’s campaign in Gaza amounted to Genocidea claim that Israel strongly denies.

Israel captured the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip in the 1967 war. The Palestinians seek an independent state in these three areas.

Israel considers the West Bank disputed territory whose future must be determined through negotiations, and has moved people there into settlements to consolidate its control. It has annexed East Jerusalem in a move not recognized internationally, and withdrew from Gaza in 2005 but maintained a blockade of the territory after Hamas took power in 2007. The international community generally considers all three areas occupied.

in Hearings in FebruaryThen-Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki accused Israel of apartheid and urged the UN’s highest court to declare Israel’s occupation of territory sought by the Palestinians illegal and must end immediately and unconditionally for any hope of a two-state future.

Last February, the Palestinians presented their arguments alongside 49 other countries and three international organizations.

If the court rules that Israel’s policies in the West Bank and East Jerusalem violate international law, it would “isolate Israel even more internationally, at least from a legal point of view,” said Erwin van Veen, a senior researcher at the Clingendael Center for International Peace in The Hague.

He added that such a ruling would “worse the issue of occupation, and remove any kind of legal, political and philosophical foundations for the Israeli expansionist project.”

This decision would also strengthen the position of “those who seek to advocate against it” – such as the Palestinian-led popular movement calling for boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel.

He said that this could also lead to an increase in the number of countries recognizing the State of Palestine, especially in the Western world, such as Spain, Norway and Ireland recently.

This is not the first time the International Court of Justice has been asked to give its legal opinion on Israeli policies. Two decades ago, the court ruled that Israel could not respect international law. The apartheid wall in the West Bank These actions were “in violation of international law.” Israel boycotted the measures, saying they were politically motivated.

Israel says the wall is a security measure, while Palestinians say the construction constitutes a large-scale land grab because it repeatedly cuts into West Bank territory.

Israel has built more than 100 settlements, according to the anti-settlement group Peace Now. According to the pro-settlement group, the settler population in the West Bank has increased by more than 15 percent in the past five years to more than 500,000 Israelis.

Israel also annexed East Jerusalem and considers the entire city its capital. An additional 200,000 Israelis live in settlements built in East Jerusalem, which Israel considers neighborhoods of its capital. The Palestinian population of the city faces systematic discrimination, Making it difficult for them to build new homes or expand existing ones.

The international community considers all settlements illegal or an obstacle to peace because they are built on land the Palestinians seek for a state.

Netanyahu’s hardline government is dominated by settler groups and their political supporters. Netanyahu has given his finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, a former settler leader, unprecedented authority Smotrich has used the position to consolidate Israel’s control over the West Bank by pushing plans to build more settlement homes and legalize outposts.

Authorities recently approved the allocation of 12.7 square kilometers (about 5 square miles) of land in the Jordan Valley, a strategic swath deep in the West Bank, according to a copy of the order obtained by The Associated Press. Data from Peace Now, a tracking group, indicate it was the largest allocation approved since the 1993 Oslo Accords at the start of the peace process.