Saudi Arabia called for an unconditional and immediate end to the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories. Denouncing roundly Israel’s aggression on the Gaza Strip, Saudi Arabia told before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, Netherlands, that Israel’s behavior since 1967 has made the establishment of a Palestinian state impossible.

Saudi Ambassador to the Netherlands Ziad Al-Attiyah said this while making the statement of Saudi Arabia during the Public hearings at ICJ, requesting an advisory opinion regarding the legal effects resulting from Israel’s policies and practices in the occupied territories, including East Jerusalem.

Al-Attiyah condemned the Israeli military aggression on the Gaza Strip, and the increasing acts of violence against the Palestinians. He voiced the Kingdom’s rejection and strong condemnation of the horrific killing, destruction and displacement of Palestinian civilians as a result of the brutal and illegal war in the Gaza Strip. He reiterated the Kingdom’s strong rejection of Israel’s twisted logic for practicing this brutality, destroying Gaza Strip and killing tens of thousands of innocent civilians, in addition to the displacement of the entire population of 2.3 million Palestinians.

“There are no reasons to prevent the court from exercising its jurisdiction to express an advisory opinion regarding the practices and policies of the Israeli occupation, and that the issue before it represents great importance to all countries and the United Nations,” he said.

Al-Attiyah said that the Kingdom has shown that Israel’s behavior since 1967 has made the establishment of a Palestinian state impossible, by annexing more than two million dunams of land, building more than 279 illegal settlements in the West Bank, illegally annexing East Jerusalem, and declaring Jerusalem the capital of Israel. The confiscation of natural resources and the destruction of Palestinian homes and others, and these actions are fully documented in many United Nations reports.

“There is much evidence available to the court regarding Israel’s illegal policies and practices in the occupied Palestinian territories, and the court must clearly define the legal consequences resulting from Israel’s prolonged occupation, and illegal policies and practices in the Palestinian territories, and how these practices and policies affect the situation,” Al-Attiyah said while drawing attention to the legal implications of the occupation, as well as the legal implications for all states and the United Nations. He emphasized that the court’s opinion will not harm the negotiation process aimed at resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as some people claim.

The ambassador asked the court to consider the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories as illegal, and that all countries must cooperate to put an end to Israel’s violations of international law. Public hearings have begun at the ICJ regarding the advisory opinion pertaining to the legal consequences resulting from Israel’s policies and practices in the occupied territories, including East Jerusalem, which started on Feb. 19 and will conclude on Feb. 26

Saudi Gazette