International court hears arguments over Israeli occupation of Gaza and West Bank

The International Court of Justice began hearing oral arguments on Monday over the Israeli occupation of territory claimed by Palestinians.

Representatives from 52 countries will participate in a six-day hearing at The Hague, Netherlands, to adjudicate the decades-old debate under the cloud of a contentious war in the region.

The case comes from a request by the United Nations General Assembly in December 2022 for the court to give an advisory opinion on the matter.

The 15-judge panel will consider “the legal consequences arising from the ongoing violation by Israel of the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, from its prolonged occupation, settlement and annexation of the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967.”

Palestinian Foreign Affairs Minister Riyad al Maliki told the court on Monday that the Palestinian people in the disputed territories are “subjected to colonization of their territory and racist violence that enables it.”