The head of the Egyptian Information Service, Diaa Rashwan, announced today, Sunday, that Cairo has submitted a memorandum to the International Court of Justice regarding Israel’s practices in Palestine, and will plead before the court next Wednesday, February 21.

This came in a statement issued by Rashwan before the court, headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands, began holding hearings regarding an advisory opinion requested by the United Nations General Assembly regarding the legal consequences arising from Israel’s policies and practices in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Rashwan said, "Egypt will participate in the advisory opinion requested by the United Nations General Assembly from the International Court of Justice (in January 2023), regarding Israeli policies and practices in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967."

He stated that "Egypt submitted a memorandum to the court, and will present an oral argument before it on February 21."

Rashwan explained that the memorandum includes “affirming the illegitimacy of the Israeli occupation, which lasted more than 75 years, in violation of the principles of international humanitarian law, as well as the policies of annexing lands, demolishing homes, and expelling, deporting, and displacing Palestinians, in violation of the peremptory rules of general international law, including the right to self-determination for the Palestinian people and the prohibition of seizing territories through the use of armed force.

The memorandum also includes “the rejection of policies of persecution, racial discrimination, and other Israeli practices, which blatantly violate the principles of international humanitarian law and international human rights law,” according to Rashwan.

He stated that the memorandum and the upcoming Egyptian pleading call on the court to confirm “Israel’s responsibility for all those internationally unlawful acts, which necessitate Israel’s immediate withdrawal from the occupied Palestinian territories, including the city of Jerusalem.”

They also demand, according to Rashwan, “the Palestinian people to be compensated for the damages they suffered as a result of these internationally illegal policies and practices, in addition to demanding that all countries of the world and the international community not recognize any legal effect of Israeli measures and stop providing support to Israel.”

The court will hold its sessions between the 19th and 26th of this month, and is scheduled to hear briefings from 52 countries, in addition to the African Union, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and the League of Arab States.

In a similar advisory opinion, the International Court of Justice ruled in 2004 that the construction of the separation wall in the occupied West Bank was illegal, and demanded that Israel remove it from all Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem and its suburbs, with compensation for those affected. But Tel Aviv did not implement what the court requested.

Since October 7, the Israeli army has been waging a devastating war on Gaza that has left, to date, 28,985 killed and 68,883 injured, most of them children and women, in addition to thousands missing under the rubble, according to the Palestinian authorities.

On January 26, the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to take measures to prevent genocide against Palestinians and improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza, but it did not order a ceasefire.

The court continues to consider this lawsuit filed by South Africa, accusing Tel Aviv of committing genocide. This is the first time, since its establishment in 1948, that Israel has been subjected to a trial before this court, which is the highest judicial body in the United Nations.