At the International Court of Justice in The Hague, proceedings are progressing towards the hearing of the Palestinian claim against Israel's occupation policy of Palestinian territory. On Tuesday, the sides submitted their positions to the International Court of Justice.
While the Palestinian foreign minister filed the lawsuit against Israel, the foreign ministry succeeded in diplomatic activity among the countries to enlist significant support for Israel's position that the conflict must be resolved between the sides, far from The Hague. Since this is a confidential procedure, it is not possible to name the countries that have expressed support for the Israeli position, but the Foreign Ministry claims impressive success.
B'nai B'rith International appealed to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague not to consider the UN General Assembly's request for an opinion on Israel's status in Judea and Samaria. A few days ago, the Palestinian Authority submitted a statement of claim to The Hague in preparation for formulating an opinion on the "essence of the occupation" – an initiative they have been promoting since December 2022, when the ICC approved it.
The UN decided to seek an opinion from the International Court of Justice in The Hague on the "Israeli occupation"// Reuters
These "major countries" expressed their reservations about the Palestinian appeal to the International Court of Justice in The Hague and conveyed a message supporting the resolution of the conflict only through negotiations between the sides and not through unilateral Palestinian initiatives.
Foreign Minister Eli Cohen told Israel Hayom that "we will continue to fight Palestinian lies and attempts to delegitimize Israel. I thank our friends around the world who submitted their position to the ICC and to most UN member states who from the outset did not lend a hand and did not support the Palestinian initiative that seeks to abuse the International Court of Justice in The Hague (ICJ) to advance a unilateral agenda against Israel."
Cohen, like former Foreign Minister Lapid at the time, added that the Palestinian appeal to The Hague was a Palestinian mistake that did not contribute to resolving the conflict. "This initiative is another mistake on the part of the Palestinian leadership, which for years has supported terrorism, incited violence and anti-Semitism, and led futile policies that harm the Palestinians themselves. The Foreign Ministry and Israeli embassies around the world are working day and night to fight the Palestinian campaign to delegitimize Israel and harm its ability to defend itself."
Foreign Minister Eli Cohen (archive), photo: Oren Ben Hakon
Meanwhile, B'nai B'rith World appealed to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) not to consider the UN General Assembly's request for an opinion on Israel's status in Judea and Samaria.
The General Assembly passed the resolution in December 2022.
A political decision that will cause damage to the court
B'nai B'rith, the first Jewish organization recognized by the UN and active for 180 years, says the court should not hear it at all because "the General Assembly resolution was highly biased, presented political views as facts and asked the ICJ to confirm those views." The organization also notes that "many of the UN member states that adopted the resolution are autocracies who refuse to recognize the State of Israel."
The 90-page opinion was written by a number of leading international jurists. They note that "the court's decision to continue hearing this case will be seen as a prominent political and non-judicial decision, which will cause serious damage to the reputation of the court."
From right to left: Dr. Robert Rockaway, Ambassador of the Philippines to Israel; Neil Imperial, Max Weissler and B'nai B'rith CEO Alan Schneider, Photo: EG Oquendo
Alan Schneider, director general of B'nai B'rith's Israel Office, told Israel Hayom, "The document clearly explains the court's lack of jurisdiction to judge the State of Israel. The problem with the General Assembly's appeal, as usually happens when the UN deals with Israeli affairs, is that from the stage of questions to the court, there is almost no choice but to provide a ruling that is biased against Israel."
Schneider added: "We hope the document will influence their decision. We also call on UN member states that voted against the General Assembly resolution to submit their positions to the court and explain to it that it is not its role to discuss the issue."
A second round of submissions of positions is expected in October, and only in 2024 will an oral hearing be scheduled on the Palestinian request in The Hague. Israel fears that a decision by the ICC in favor of the Palestinians could help boycott organizations around the world against Israel and harm Israel's international standing, despite the fact that the court's ruling is not binding.
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