A day after vetoing calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the United States defended Israel’s decades-long occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem, arguing at the United Nations’ top court that Israel faced “very real needs security. “
The latest US defense of Israel on the world stage came at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, where Richard C. Visek, acting legal adviser to the US State Department, urged a panel of 15 judges not to call for Israel’s immediate withdrawal. from the occupied Palestinian territories.
He said only the establishment of an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel could bring lasting peace, reiterating a long-standing US position but whose prospects look even more elusive amid the war in Gaza.
The court heard six days of arguments on the legality of Israel’s occupation of Palestinian-majority territories, including the West Bank and East Jerusalem, which has been the subject of years of debate and resolutions at the United Nations. The hearings – attended by more than 50 countries – took place long before Israel launched its war against Hamas in Gaza, but have become part of a concerted global effort to end the conflict and examine the legitimacy of Israel’s policies towards the Palestinians .
Israel said it would not participate in the hearings and wrote to the court last year arguing they were unjustified and did not “recognize Israel’s right and duty to protect its citizens” or its right to security.
The United States has strongly defended Israel during the war, including on Tuesday when it vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire, saying it would halt efforts to free hostages held in Gaza. .
On Wednesday, Mr Visek asked the court to uphold the “established framework” for peace that he said UN bodies had agreed to – one that depends on a “broader end to hostilities” against Israel – instead of heeding other nations’ calls for Israel’s “unilateral and unconditional withdrawal” from the occupied territories.
The Hamas-led attacks on Israel on Oct. 7 were a reminder of the threats facing the country and its security needs, Mr. Visek said, “and they persist.”
“Unfortunately, these needs were ignored by many of the participants in arguing how the court should consider the questions before it,” he said, referring to testimony from other countries at the hearings.
Mr Visek’s appearance was immediately preceded by that of Vladimir Tarabrin, Russia’s ambassador to the Netherlands.
When he took the microphone, Mr Tarabrin said Russia valued its “stable relations” with Israel and expressed his condolences on October 7. But in what appeared to be a thinly veiled jab at the United States, he said Russia “cannot accept logic from those who are ‘trying to defend indiscriminate violence against civilians’ in Gaza by invoking Israel’s right to defend itself.”
“Violence can only lead to more violence,” he said.
The court, which often hears serious disputes between nations, has recently become a place where countries oppose Israel. Last month, South Africa argued in court that Israel was committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza – a charge Israel strongly rejected. The judges have not ruled on that claim, but issued a temporary order for Israel to take steps to prevent genocide in Gaza.
On Tuesday, South Africa strongly condemned Israel’s policies against the Palestinians, calling them “a more extreme form of apartheid,” the racial system of laws that disenfranchised black South Africans for decades.
Israel has long rejected accusations that it operates an apartheid system, calling such claims offensive and pointing out that it has been condemned by UN bodies and courts.
The United States has remained Israel’s staunchest defender internationally. But the Biden administration, under increasing pressure from parts of the Democratic Party, has also shown signs of impatience with Israel’s conduct of the war, the mounting toll in Gaza and the plight of Palestinians under Israeli occupation.
President Biden said this month that Israel’s military response to Gaza — which began after Hamas attacks on October 7 — was “excessive” and that the massive civilian suffering “must stop.” The remarks came days after Mr Biden imposed broad financial sanctions on four Israeli men for violent attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank.
After the hearings, scheduled to end Monday, the court will issue an advisory opinion, a decision expected to take several months. The opinion will be non-binding.
Cassandra Winograd contributed to the report.
