ICJ Ruling Reflects Concerns over Israel’s Criminality: Iranian Spokesman
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry said the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) advisory opinion that the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory is unlawful reflects the international community’s grave concerns about the Zionist regime’s crimes.
In a statement on Saturday, Nasser Kanaani said the ICJ’s advisory opinion about the “legal consequences arising from the policies and practices of Israel in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem”, released on July 19, reflected the international community’s grave concerns about the Israeli regime’s illegal and criminal measures.
Citing the ICJ ruling that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian land violates international law and must end, Kanaani said, “The Islamic Republic of Iran believes that the oppressed Palestinian nation’s fundamental right to self-determination has been constantly violated during the past years, particularly after the declaration of establishment of the child-murdering Israeli regime and continues to be violated, as the violation of the rights of Palestinian people is not confined to a specific era.”
He also noted that the Israeli genocidal crimes, its crimes against humanity, and the war crimes committed against Gaza during the past recent months have systematically violated the Palestinian nation’s right to self-determination.
The Iranian spokesman then called on the international community, specifically the UN Security Council, to hold the Zionist regime’s officials accountable and take practical steps to end the Israeli acts of aggression against Palestine and its illegal occupation of the Palestinian territories.
Kanaani then reiterated Iran’s progressive idea for settling the current illegal conditions in occupied Palestine, calling for an inclusive referendum involving all residents and main citizens of Palestine, including Muslims, Christians and Jews.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled on July 19 that Israel’s continued presence in the occupied Palestinian territory is unlawful and should come to an end “as rapidly as possible”.
Nawaf Salam, president of the ICJ in The Hague, read out the nonbinding advisory opinion issued by the 15-judge panel on Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory on Friday.
The judges pointed to a wide list of policies – including the building and expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, use of the area’s natural resources, the annexation and imposition of permanent control over lands and discriminatory policies against Palestinians – all of which it said violated international law.
The court said Israel has no right to sovereignty of the territories, is violating international laws against acquiring territory by force and is impeding Palestinians’ right to self-determination.
The court’s opinion was sought in a 2022 request from the United Nations General Assembly.
The ICJ, also known as the World Court, is the highest UN body for hearing disputes between states.