Palestine

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The Occupation of Gaza in the ICJ Palestine Advisory Opinion

July 23, 2024

As I noted in my first post on the ICJ Palestine AO, the Court has held that the law of occupation, at least to some extent, continues to apply in Gaza. In this post I will examine the Court’s holding and reasoning more closely. Readers will be aware that the question whether Gaza remained occupied after Israel’s 2005 disengagement has been very controversial. Painting with a very broad brush, many academic experts, states, various international bodies and NGOs, including the ICRC, have argued that Gaza remained occupied, due to Israel’s control of Gaza’s borders and other ways of projecting its power within the territory. Other experts, including many from military backgrounds, have argued that occupation requires boots on the ground and that, after its disengagement, Israel had no effective control over Gaza, with its adversary, Hamas, eventually assuming such control. (For more background, see this post of mine from 15 years ago examining the debate, another post looking at a relevant judgment of the European…

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The Prohibition of Annexations and ICJ’s Advisory Opinion on the Occupied Palestinian Territory

July 22, 2024

The International Court of Justice issued its much-anticipated advisory opinion in Legal Consequences arising from the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem on July 19, 2024. It is a blockbuster opinion, and a sweeping defeat for Israel. With it, the Court confidently asserts a powerful role in determining…

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ICJ Delivers Advisory Opinion on the Legality of Israel’s Occupation of Palestinian Territories

July 20, 2024

Yesterday, the International Court of Justice delivered its groundbreaking advisory opinion on the Legal Consequences arising from the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem. (The Court’s opinion and all of the individual opinions of the judges are available here.) The bottom line of the AO is that the…

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Applications for Arrest Warrants in the Situation in Palestine: In Defence of the Legal Process

July 2, 2024

The recent announcement by the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) seeking arrest warrants for leaders of both Israel and Hamas has sent shockwaves through the region. Unlike last year’s similar action against Russian President Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, which received widespread approval from Western states, the ICC Prosecutor’s application…

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The strange story of the “conditional” admission of the State of Palestine to the United Nations

June 11, 2024

On 10 May 2024, the General Assembly (GA) adopted by an overwhelming majority Resolution ES-10/23 on the admission of the State of Palestine to the United Nations. The resolution does not pronounce the admission. After determining in point 1 of the operative part that the State of Palestine meets the requirements for admission under Article 4(1) of the…

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