ICJ Declares Israel’s Occupation of Palestinian Territories Illegal, But Does Not Call Israel an Illegal State
A video (here, here and here) is being widely shared on social media claiming that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has declared Israel an illegal state and that it should not be recognised as a sovereign nation worldwide. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has declared Israel an illegal state.
Fact: The International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued an advisory opinion on 19 July 2024 stating that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem, is illegal under international law. However, the ICJ did not declare Israel an illegitimate state or comment on its sovereignty. The viral video featuring Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Al-Maliki shows him briefing the media about the ICJ’s opinion, stating that the occupation violates the UN Human Rights Charter and international humanitarian law, and that all Israeli settlements must be dismantled and settlers evacuated. He did not claim that the ICJ had declared Israel an illegal state. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
First, we searched the internet using relevant keywords to check whether the International Court of Justice (ICJ) had made any such statements about Israel, but we did not find any credible reports. During this process, we came across several news articles (here, here, here & here) reporting that the ICJ had declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories illegal on 19 July 2024.
In December 2022, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) requested the ICJ to provide an advisory opinion on the Israel-Palestine conflict, including East Jerusalem, and to address the legal consequences of Israel’s policies in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The ICJ issued its report on 19 July 2024. In this report, the Court stated that Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem, is illegal. However, it did not refer to Israel as an illegitimate state, nor did it make any comments on Israeli sovereignty.
Moreover, the person seen in the viral video is Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Al-Maliki. Using relevant keywords, we searched further and found that the full-length video had been shared by the Turkish media organisation ‘TRT World’ on its official YouTube channel on 19 July 2024. The video description shows Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Al-Maliki briefing the media about the ICJ’s report on the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories.
In the video, Riyad Al-Maliki told the media that the ICJ had declared the Israeli occupation illegal and called for Israel to withdraw from the Palestinian territories as soon as possible. He added that the ICJ declared Israel’s occupation violates the UN Human Rights Charter and international humanitarian law and that all Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories are illegal and must be demolished, with all Israeli settlers evacuated immediately. However, he did not state that the ICJ had declared Israel an illegal state.
To sum it up, while the ICJ’s advisory opinion issued on 19 July 2024 states that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories is illegal, it does not label Israel as an illegitimate state or question its sovereignty.