Arab League Accuses Israel of ‘Racial Domination’ against Palestinians at ICJ

Ralph Wilde, representing LAS, stated that Palestinians have been denied their right to self-determination through a century-long violent, colonial racist effort to establish a Jewish state in Mandatory Palestine, leading to what he called "racial domination and apartheid" against Palestinians.

He then highlighted the “existential illegality of Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian Gaza Strip and West Bank, including East Jerusalem (al-Quds) since 1967”.

Abdel Hakim El Rifai, also representing LAS, called Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories the "last oppressive, expansionist apartheid settler colonial occupation still standing in the 21st century." He accused Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians and emphasized the need to end the occupation for peace in the region.

“There can be no moral or juridical justification for occupying lands, killing, terrorizing and displacing their populations…. Only the rule of law, not the prevailing law of the jungle, will pave the way to peace in the whole region….Ending the occupation is the gateway to peaceful coexistence,” he said.

Turkey's legal representative and Deputy Foreign Minister Ahmet Yildiz highlighted Israeli actions violating holy sites, including the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and criticized Israeli politicians for inciting violence. He expressed concern over Israeli plans to limit Muslim access to holy sites during Ramadan.

Turkey’s representative at the ICJ hearing says the conflict could have been settled by now if international law and human rights law had been upheld and the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people had been recognized.

“The conflict is not about a certain Palestinian faction or group. The conflict dates back to an earlier century,” he says.

“The real obstacle to peace is obvious,” he adds, identifying the “deepening occupation by Israel of the Palestinian territories”.