Arab States Tell UN Court Israeli Occupation Is 'affront To Justice'

The League of Arab States on Monday called Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories an "affront to international justice", saying failure to end it amounted to "genocide"

The Hague, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 26th Feb, 2024) The League of Arab States on Monday called Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories an "affront to international justice", saying failure to end it amounted to "genocide".

The International Court of Justice entered its last day of week-long hearings after a request from the United Nations, with an unprecedented 52 countries giving their views on Israel's occupation.

"This prolonged occupation is an affront to international justice," the 22 Arab-country bloc's representative told judges in The Hague.

"The failure to bring it to an end has led to the current horrors perpetrated against the Palestinian people, amounting to genocide," Abdel Hakim El-Rifai said, reading a written statement.

Most speakers during the hearings have demanded that Israel end its occupation, which came after a six-day Arab-Israeli war in 1967.

But last week the United States said Israel should not be legally obliged to withdraw without taking its "very real security needs" into account.

Speakers on Monday warned a prolonged occupation posed an "extreme danger" to stability in the middle East and beyond.

"If left unchecked, it runs the risk of not only threatening regional, but also global peace and security," Turkey's representative Ahmet Yildiz said.

Zambia's representative however told judges that both sides had a duty to negotiate a peaceful settlement.

"Both Israel and Palestine have a duty to respect international human rights law and international humanitarian law," Marshal Mubambe Muchende said.

He said any settlement of the conflict should not be "one that puts the blame squarely on one party, but rather one that advances a negotiated solution which culminates in a two-state solution".