A day after vetoing requires an instantaneous cease-fire in Gaza, the United States on Wednesday defended Israel’s decades-long occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem, arguing at the United Nations’ highest court docket that Israel confronted “very real security needs.”
The newest U.S. protection of Israel on the worldwide stage got here at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, the place Richard C. Visek, the performing authorized adviser at the U.S. State Department, urged a 15-judge panel to not name for Israel’s speedy withdrawal from occupied Palestinian territory. He stated that solely the institution of an unbiased Palestinian state alongside Israel may result in lasting peace, repeating a longstanding U.S. place however one whose prospects seem much more elusive amid the conflict in Gaza.
The court docket is listening to six days of arguments over the legality of Israel’s occupation of Palestinian-majority territories, together with the West Bank and East Jerusalem, which has been the topic of years of debates and resolutions at the United Nations. The hearings — involving greater than 50 international locations — had been referred to as lengthy earlier than Israel went to conflict in opposition to Hamas in Gaza, however have turn out to be a part of a concerted international effort to cease the battle and look at the legality of Israel’s insurance policies towards Palestinians.
Israel has stated it could not take part within the hearings, and despatched a letter to the court docket final 12 months arguing that the main focus of the proceedings did not “recognize Israel’s right and duty to protect its citizens” or its proper to safety.
The United States has strongly defended Israel throughout the conflict, together with on Tuesday, when it forged the lone veto in opposition to a U.N. Security Council decision that referred to as for an instantaneous cease-fire, saying it could disrupt efforts to free hostages held in Gaza.
On Wednesday, Mr. Visek requested the court docket to uphold the “established framework” for peace that he stated U.N. our bodies have agreed to — one that’s contingent on a “broader end to belligerence” in opposition to Israel — somewhat than heed calls by different nations for Israel’s “unilateral and unconditional withdrawal” from occupied territories.
The Oct. 7 Hamas-led assaults on Israel had been a reminder of the threats dealing with the nation and of its safety wants, Mr. Visek stated, “and they persist.”
“Regrettably, those needs have been ignored by many of the participants in asserting how the court should consider the questions before it,” he stated, referring to others international locations’ testimony within the hearings.
The court docket, which usually hears staid disputes amongst nations, has these days turn out to be a venue for international locations to oppose Israel. Last month, South Africa argued at the court docket that Israel was committing genocide in opposition to Palestinians in Gaza — a cost Israel strongly rejected. The judges haven’t dominated on that declare, however issued an interim order for Israel to take steps to forestall genocide in Gaza.
On Tuesday, South Africa forcefully condemned Israel’s insurance policies in opposition to Palestinians, calling them “a more extreme form of apartheid,” the race-based system of legal guidelines that disadvantaged Black South Africans for many years.
Israel has lengthy rejected accusations that it operates an apartheid system, calling such allegations a slur and pointing to what it says is a historical past of being singled out for condemnation by U.N. our bodies and tribunals.
The United States has remained Israel’s staunchest defender internationally. But the Biden administration, below growing stress from elements of the Democratic Party, has additionally proven indicators of impatience with Israel’s conduct of the conflict, the rising toll in Gaza and the plight of Palestinians below Israeli occupation.
President Biden this month stated that Israel’s army response in Gaza — which started after Hamas’s Oct. 7 assaults — had been “over the top” and that the immense civilian struggling had “got to stop.” The remarks got here days after Mr. Biden imposed broad monetary sanctions in opposition to 4 Israeli males over violent assaults in opposition to Palestinians within the West Bank.
After the hearings, that are scheduled to conclude on Monday, the court docket will give an advisory opinion, a call that’s anticipated to take a number of months. The opinion will probably be nonbinding.
Cassandra Vinograd contributed reporting.
