ICJ to Issue Advisory Opinion on Israel’s Occupation of Palestine Later Today

New Delhi: The International Court of Justice will deliver its advisory opinion on the policies and practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including East Jerusalem, on Friday (July 19).

The public hearings on the request for an advisory opinion were held from February 19 to 26, 2024, after which the court began its deliberations.

President of the court, Judge Nawaf Salam, is expected to read out the advisory opinion at 6:30 pm (IST) at the Peace Palace in The Hague.

During the hearings, 49 member states of the United Nations, Palestine and three international organisations had presented oral statements.

These include: South Africa, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, the Netherlands, Bangladesh, Belgium, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, United States of America, Russian Federation, France, The Gambia, Guyana, Hungary, China, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mauritius, Namibia, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Indonesia, Qatar, United Kingdom, Slovenia, Sudan, Switzerland, Syria, Tunisia, Türkiye, Zambia, League of Arab States, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, African Union, Spain, Fiji and the Maldives.

Israel did not attend the hearings in February but in an earlier written statement, submitted in July 2023, it described the questions placed before the ICJ as "tendentious" and said that they "represent a clear distortion of the history and present reality of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict."

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