Day One: ICJ opens historic hearings into Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories (19 February 2024)

Today, the International Court of Justice held the first in a series of public hearings from 19-26 February 2023 on the request for an advisory opinion in respect of the Legal Consequences arising from the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem at the Peace Palace in The Hague, the seat of the Court.

Palestine had previously submitted a written submission to the Court on 25 October 2023 (PDF document, 203 pages).

After an introduction from the court, Palestine began to present its case. The court heard from:

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Maliki gave a historical overview of the situation of the Palestinian people
Law professor Andreas Zimmerman, on the applicable and the well-established and undisputed facts that Israel’s 56-year occupation of Palestinian territory is manifestly and gravely unlawful and that international law requires that it’d be brought to an end completely and unconditionally
Legal representative Paul Reichler, on the legal framework of the request
Dr Namira Negm, on Israel’s persecution, racial discrimination and apartheid against the Palestinian people
Professor Philippe Sands, on the violation of the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination
Professor Alain Pellet, on the consequences of Israel’s breaches
Riyad Mansour, Palestine’s envoy to the United Nations, concluded the arguments by telling the ICJ that a ruling which deemed Israeli occupation illegal and “the legal consequences from this determination” would pave the way “to just and lasting peace”

Read Al-Jazeera English’s excellent liveblog from the court proceedings.