In a historic ruling, the International Court of Justice declared the 53 year long Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory including West Bank, Gaza and Jerusalem, ILLEGAL. It makes unambiguous specific demands on Israel. It also demands that other countries, like Canada which are members of the court, move immediately to enforce Israeli compliance with the court’s findings. Read more…..

The 83 page bombshell “Advisory opinion” of the world’s highest court reaffirms that the Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem have been established and are being maintained in clear violation of international law.

The Court called on Israel to:

• end the occupation immediately
• remove all settlers from West Bank including East Jerusalem
• dismantle the wall
• Allow displaced Palestinians to return
• Pay full reparation to affected Palestinians
• lift the illegal blockade of Gaza and withdraw all Israeli troops.

EXCERPT

“THE COURT is of the opinion that:

• The State of Israel’s continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is unlawful;
• The State of Israel is under an obligation to bring to an end its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory as rapidly as possible;
• The State of Israel is under an obligation to cease immediately all new settlement activities, and to evacuate all settlers from the Occupied Palestinian Territory;
• The State of Israel has the obligation to make reparation for the damage caused to all the natural or legal persons concerned in the Occupied Palestinian Territory;
• International organizations, including the United Nations, are under an obligation not to recognize as legal the situation arising from the unlawful presence of the State of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory;

Amnesty International demanded that “Israel must withdraw its forces from all parts of the occupied territories, including the Gaza Strip and remove all settlers from the West Bank, including from the illegally annexed East Jerusalem. Israel must also relinquish control over all aspects of Palestinians’ lives, as well as ceding control of borders, natural resources, air space and territorial waters of the occupied territory. This means lifting the illegal blockade of Gaza and allowing Palestinians to travel freely between Gaza and the West Bank.” 

Who will enforce this ruling?

The Court made it clear that there is no time nor need for Palestine to ‘negotiate’ over these measures with Israelo. They are to be implemented unilaterally and immediately, and stipulated that Member States and the United Nations must take “action” to end Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory”

QUOTE: “All States are under an obligation not to recognize as legal the situation arising from the unlawful presence of the State of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and not to render aid or assistance in maintaining the situation created by the continued presence of the State of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory;”

“The international community, and in particular Israel’s allies, must now take unequivocal action to ensure Israel ends its unlawful occupation, starting with the immediate halting of the expansion of Israeli settlements and reversing the annexation of Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, and dismantling its brutal system of apartheid against Palestinians. Ending the occupation is crucial in order to stop the recurrent pattern of human rights violations across Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.”

Consequences for Canada

“Israel will try to ignore the court’s ruling”, said Diana Buttu, Palestinian Canadian lawyer and member of the Advisory Council of the Ottawa Forum on Israel Palestine “but the ruling also applies to other countries (including Canada) to enforce it.”

In December 2022, Canada shamefully opposed the UN General Assembly resolution to ask the ICJ for a legal opinion on the occupation, and urged the ICJ to turn down the case.

Now that the ICJ has rendered its opinion, Canada is obliged to cooperate in all efforts to force its compliance. “Canada should vocally support the conclusions of the ICJ, vote in support of any relevant resolutions at the UNGA, and modify its policies to stop aiding Israel’s illegal presence in the OPT“, commented wrote Michael Bueckert, Vice-President of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME).

Here are some practical steps Canada should take alone, or in conjunction with “like minded” countries, to support the decisions of the court.

• Reaffirm Canada’s support for the integrity of the International Court of Justice
• Issue a public statement acknowledging the serious nature of the court’s findings
• Acknowledge that Canada has an obligation to support the court’s ruling and will take appropriate measures
• Suspend the Canada-Israel Free Trade agreement until all the court’s recommendations have been implemented
• Ban importation of Israeli goods produced in the OpT, or using natural resources from occupied Palestine.
• Deny visitor visas to any Israeli settler who lives illegally in the OPT.

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BREAKING NEWS: A joint statement by Prime Minister Trudeau and the Prime Ministers of both Australia and New Zealand on July 26th has answered the question of what Canada will do in response to the ICJ ruling. Basically NOTHING more than pleading with Israel to respect the decision while knowing full well that Prime Minister Netanyahu has already said he will ignore it! It proposes no concrete steps or measures to be imposed on Israel to push it to begin implementation.

WORSE – most of the statement is aimed at denouncing Hamas. “We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of Hamas for the atrocities of October 7 and ongoing acts of terror. Hamas must lay down its arms and release all hostages. We see no role for Hamas in the future governance of Gaza”, it read.
This flies in the face of Canada’s alleged support for the Palestinian right of self determination (including choosing their own government). Given Netanyahu’s frequent statements that he intends to wipe out Hamas completely, asking Hamas to lay down arms is tantamount to inviting them to commit suicide.

Canada Talks Israel Palestine (CTIP) is the weekly newsletter of Peter Larson, Chair of the Ottawa Forum on Israel/Palestine (OFIP). It aims to promote a serious discussion in Canada about Canada’s response to the complicated and emotional Israel/Palestine issue with a focus on the truth, clear analysis and human rights for all. Readers with different points of view are invited to make comment.
Want to learn more about us? Go to Ottawa Forum on Israel/Palestine.ca