GAZA (Dispatches) – Palestinian resistance movement Hamas has welcomed a recent announcement by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in which it set a date for the written submissions for the investigation of the legal consequences of the Zionist regime’s occupation of the Palestinian Territories.
In an official statement, Hamas described the move as a “step towards supporting the just Palestinian cause and criminalizing the fascist Israeli occupation that constantly commits crimes and violations against the Palestinian people, lands, and holy places.”
The resistance movement called on all countries, the United Nations agencies, and relevant international organizations “to file their pleadings and present reports on the illegality of the Zionist occupation and its crimes to the ICJ,” stressing that such a move would defend the “Palestinian people’s right to freedom.”
The court set 25 July would be the deadline for receiving written submissions from international countries, and the UN over the legality of the Zionist occupation. The move came after the UN General Assembly in December demanded a legal advisory opinion by the ICJ on the nature of the occupation.
The announcement comes after the ICJ received a request from the UN General Assembly last month to provide an advisory opinion on the illegality of Israel’s occupation of Palestine. The Hague-based ICJ is the top UN court dealing with disputes between states. Its rulings are binding, but it has no power to enforce them.
In a move condemned by the Zionist regime and welcomed by Palestinians, the General Assembly’s request covers Israel’s “occupation, settlement and annexation including measures aimed at altering the demographic composition, character and status of the Holy City of Al-Quds, and from its adoption of related discriminatory legislation and measures.”
The UN resolution also asks the ICJ to advise on how those policies and practices “affect the legal status of the occupation” and what legal consequences arise for all countries and the UN from this status.