Israel accused of repressing basic Palestinian freedoms in ICJ hearing on West Bank rule

Israel faced an avalanche of condemnation and denunciation in the International Court of Justice on Monday, as Palestinian representatives accused Jerusalem of creating a permanent and illegal occupation in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and of establishing a system of apartheid in its treatment of the Palestinians.

The proceedings on Monday were the first of six days of hearings in The Hague over the UN General Assembly’s request for an advisory opinion by the ICJ on the “legal consequences” of Israel’s 56-year rule in the territories.

Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Riyad Maliki accused Israel of giving Palestinians the choice of “ethnic cleansing, apartheid, or genocide” due to its long-term rule of the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and he and other representatives for the Palestinians asked the ICJ to “declare that the Israeli occupation is illegal” and to call for its immediate end.