Declaration of illegality of Israeli settlements
On the same day that the International Court of Justice (ICJ), located in The Hague and the main judicial body of the United Nations, declared the Israeli presence in the occupied territories of the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem illegal, the attacks in the Strip of Gaza continued incessantly. Violence against the Palestinian population continues, with the complicity of several Western powers.
Escalation of violence in Gaza
In recent days some of the most devastating attacks of this conflict have been recorded. On July 20, Israeli aviation destroyed several residential buildings. The most recent attack, which occurred in a densely populated area, resulted in the deaths of at least 90 people and more than 300 injuries. The Israeli army justified the action by saying that its objective was to eliminate the head of the Hamas brigade in the city of Khan Yunis. The following day, a United Nations school in the Nuseyrat refugee camp was bombed, causing at least twelve deaths. The bombing of schools and refugee camps has become a systematic practice: in June, another UNRWA school, where 6,000 people were sheltering, was attacked, leaving 45 dead and many injured.
Humanitarian consequences
In early July, the medical journal The Lancet revealed that probable deaths in Israeli attacks on Gaza far exceeded official Palestinian figures. According to this publication, adding indirect deaths due to disease, hunger and lack of assistance, the figures could exceed 186,000 lives, which represents about 8% of the population of Gaza. The UN estimated in February that 35% of buildings in the Strip had been destroyed, and many bodies likely remain buried in the rubble.
Resistance to international decisions
Despite repeated orders from the ICJ for Israel to stop its attacks on Gaza, these have had no effect on the ground. In January, March and May, the Court urged Israel to cease its offensive, but without success. Western powers have continued their support for Israel, maintaining economic, cultural and diplomatic relations with the Israeli state. Spain, for example, has purchased weapons worth millions of euros from Israel since last October.
Historical decisions and their impact
The recent ruling of the ICJ, announced by Nawaf Salam, president of the court, describes the Israeli occupation of these territories as a ‘de facto annexation’. The ruling indicates that an apartheid regime has been established and that the expansion of the colonies is based on the confiscation of land and racial segregation. Since 1967, more than 400,000 Israeli settlers have settled in the West Bank.
Future repercussions
Although the ICJ ruling is not binding, it has great moral, legal and political relevance. The resolution states that the occupation, colonization and exploitation of Palestinian natural resources by Israel and its settlers violate international law and the rights of Palestinians to sovereignty over their resources. Israel, a state created thanks to the historic UN resolution 181 in 1947, has frontally rejected this ruling, as it has done with other international actions that question its activities in the territories occupied since the Six Day War of 1967.