The ruling from the top UN court is a non-binding advisory opinion that is unlikely to have much direct impact on Israeli policy, but will add to the mounting international pressure on Israel to outline a full strategy to end fighting in Gaza.
The ruling is not connected to events since October 7, when Hamas militants led incursions into Israel, taking some 250 hostages and leading to the deaths of around 1,200 people, mostly civilians.
What did the court say?
The ICJ’s panel of 15 judges said “the transfer by Israel of settlers to the West Bank and Jerusalem as well as Israel’s maintenance of their presence, is contrary to article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention.”
The court also said that Israel’s use of natural resources in Palestinian territories was “inconsistent” with its obligations as an occupying power.
The ICJ called the presence of Israeli forces in occupied territories illegal and said it should end “as rapidly as possible.”
The court also said Israel must pay reparations for the damages it caused during its occupation.
Netanyahu slams ICJ ruling as ‘decision of lies’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the court had made a “decision of lies.”
“The Jewish people are not occupiers in their own land — not in our eternal capital Jerusalem, nor in our ancestral heritage of Judea and Samaria,” Netanyahu said in a statement.
“No decision of lies in The Hague will distort this historical truth, and similarly, the legality of Israeli settlements in all parts of our homeland cannot be disputed,” he added.
Why is Israel occupying Palestinian territories?
Israel has occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem since the Six-Day War in 1967. More than 500,000 Israeli settlers have set up home across more than 100 settlements, already deemed illegal by the United Nations, on occupied land.
Some 200,000 Israelis also live in East Jerusalem neighborhoods that Palestinians hope would make up their future capital city.
The West Bank and East Jerusalem, along with Gaza, would be the foundational territories for a future Palestinian state, a plan backed by Israel’s major supporters including the US and Germany.
The ruling comes amid the backdrop of Israel’s operations in Gaza, in response to the events of October 7, that have killed more than 38,800 people, mostly women and children, according to data from the Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, figures that are deemed largely reliable by the UN.
Israel rejects Palestinian statehood
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has repeatedly rejected the idea of a Palestinian state and has continued to promote Israeli settlements in the occupied territories.
The Israeli parliament, the Knesset, also voted against the formation of a Palestinian state on Thursday, drawing condemnation from the German government.
While Berlin has been largely reticent to criticize Israel, a spokesperson for the German Foreign Ministry on Friday said it was “deeply troubled” by the move, adding that “Israel is isolating itself.”
The ICJ took up the case in December 2022, after a large majority of the UN General Assembly voted on requesting an advisory opinion.
The court is also considering a separate case filed by South Africa that accuses Israel of committing genocide in Gaza.