Egypt participates in ICJ advisory opinion on Israeli policies, practices in Palestine since 1967

CAIRO – 18 February 2024: Egypt will participate in the ICJ advisory opinion, which has been acknowledged by the court upon a request submitted by the UNGA on Israeli policies and practices in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, Chairman of Egypt’s State Information Service (SIS) Diaa Rashwan

Egypt submitted two memoranda to the court and will present an oral argument before the court on February 21. 2024, he added.

Rashwan said that the oral argument includes confirming the jurisdiction of the ICJ to consider the advisory opinion, as the UN General Assembly is one of the organs authorized according to the Charter of the Organization to request an advisory opinion from the Court as the matter deals with the legal dimensions of the illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, in violation of the principles of international law and resolutions of international legitimacy.

Regarding the advisory opinion, the Egyptian memorandum focuses on the illegality of the over-75-year-old Israeli occupation in violation of the principles of international humanitarian law. It also focuses on the Israel's policies such as land annexation, home demolitions, and the expulsion and displacement of Palestinians, which are seen as violations of peremptory norms of international law, including the right to self-determination and the prohibition of acquiring territory by force.

 The memorandum also rejects Israel's policies of persecution, racial discrimination and other practices, which flagrantly violate the principles of international humanitarian law and human rights law.

The Egyptian memorandum and oral argument call on the court to affirm Israel's responsibility for all these internationally illegal acts, which necessitates Israel's immediate withdrawal from the occupied Palestinian territories, including the city of Jerusalem.