Today, Tuesday, the International Court of Justice in The Hague resumed its public hearings on the legal consequences arising from Israel’s policies and practices in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem.

Yesterday, the court heard the State of Palestine’s plea, presented by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Riyad Al-Maliki, and the legal team of the State of Palestine, which included: Professor Andre Zimmerman, Faul Rackler, Professor Philip Sander, international law expert Ambassador Namira Negm, and the Permanent Representative of Palestine to the United Nations Riyad Mansour and Alain Pele.

Today, the court is scheduled to hold two public sessions, in the morning and in the evening, to hear briefings from the countries that submitted written pleadings earlier, namely: South Africa, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, the Netherlands, Bangladesh, Belgium, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, and Chile.

The public sessions will continue for six days, between February 19 and 26, to listen to briefings from 52 countries, in addition to the African Union, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and the League of Arab States.

The hearings come in the context of the United Nations General Assembly’s request to obtain an advisory opinion from International Justice on the effects of the Israeli occupation that has continued for more than 57 years.

On November 11, 2022, the Fourth Committee of the United Nations General Assembly, the Special Committee on Political Issues and Decolonization, adopted a draft resolution submitted by the State of Palestine to request a legal advisory opinion and advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice, on the nature of the existence of the Israeli colonial occupation. In the territory of the State of Palestine, including Jerusalem.

This is the second time that the United Nations General Assembly has asked the International Court of Justice, also known as the World Court, to issue an advisory opinion related to the occupied Palestinian territory.

In July 2004, the General Assembly requested a legal advisory opinion on Israeli actions in the territory occupied in December 2003 regarding the construction of the apartheid wall in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

A few months later, in July 2004, the court found that construction of the wall contravened international law and must stop, and that the parts that had been built must be dismantled.

Although advisory opinions issued by the International Court of Justice are non-binding, they carry significant moral and legal authority and could eventually become part of the norms of international law.