ActionAid Media Release
ActionAid welcomes the historic judgment of the court, which has declared that the Israeli Government’s continued occupation of the Palestinian territory is unlawful.
The ICJ concluded that Israel’s treatment of Palestinians in the occupied territory constitutes systematic discrimination, and that its legislation and measures in the West Bank and East Jerusalem breach international conventions which prohibit apartheid.
Every single day, our colleagues, partners and the people we support across the occupied Palestinian territory experience the trauma of living under a brutal occupation that severely curtails their basic rights and freedoms – just because they are Palestinian – and results in effective military control over all aspects of their lives.
Today’s verdict affirms the fundamental right of Palestinians to self-determination and to live free from violence and discrimination, which has been denied them for far too long.
The court has concluded that the Israeli government must end its unlawful presence in the occupied Palestinian territory, cease all settlement activity – which it judged to be in breach of international law – and make reparations to the Palestinians affected.
ActionAid Australia Executive Director Michelle Higelin said:
“ActionAid welcomes this historic ruling and its acknowledgement of almost sixty years of horrific injustice,” said Ms Higelin.
“The ICJ’s opinion upholds the Palestinian people’s fundamental right to self-determination, and freedom from colonial oppression and racial segregation.
“The Court’s findings are wide-reaching and outline obligations not only for Israel, but for all countries.
“The world’s governments must uphold this opinion, and we call on the Australian Government to lead by example in accepting its findings.
“The Court has found that countries party to the Geneva Conventions, including Australia, have an obligation to hold Israel to account for its breaches of international law.
“The Court has found countries have an obligation not to recognise Israel’s occupation as legal, nor “render aid or assistance”.
“Australia, and all countries, should end any and all cooperation with Israel that could be used to support its illegal presence in Palestine – especially the supply of arms.
“It is clear: Israel’s illegal occupation must urgently come to an end, and reparations should be paid.
“We call on Israel in this moment to respect international law. It must recognise and respect the rights of people in Palestine as a pathway to sustainable peace,” said Ms Higelin.
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About ActionAid
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I cant believe what I just read, but,hell, its about bloody time.
My reaction then is to see this ruling as critical of the State of Israel, and therefore antisemitic.
This is the sort of thought process Australians are being to taught by Albos recent appointment of the Jewist women.
And probably a nice comfortable earner for her too, at taxpayers expense.
Now the ruling is public, do i expect to see any changes?
Not really, with the hypercritical ruling class.
The corner of the carpet will be raised, and this gem will be swept away never to be seen again.
But for a moment in time i saw light.
Yes,Douglas,Israel will not give two knobs of goatshit,and nothing will change until there’s an unstoppable conflagration that consumes Israel and most of the Middle East.World War three is only one idiotic mistake away.Given the posturing of a wobbling’West’ only Russia and China stand to profit.
When I heard the news, a flush of hope came over me. I momentarily imagined the mighty UN and UNSC bringing a decisive end to the illegalities, and Oz a clear path to stop its ambiguities.
Then I remembered Kashmir, Cambodia, Somalia, Bosnia, Rwanda, Sudan, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Myanmar, Russia/Ukraine etc, and so on and so forth.
And that the great arms exporters didn’t like its meddling. And that increasingly of late the USA and Russia in particular, most often raising their middle finger to the organization. With recently, radicals in the USA even threatening to pursue the dismantling of the UN.
Sadly I was left contemplating the greasy tightrope to the future, across the pit of aggravated fattened crocodiles.
Since 1967 Israel has been told that the West Bank and East Jerusalem was not theirs to settle. How much notice have they taken?
This is just another reminder that there is no respect for international law, no respect for international courts, no respect for any one but those who kowtow to their will.
Bert, they respect the writings of their ancestors with a fervour.
The UN need to expel Israel and SA needs to lead a boycott.
ps millions of xstians believe their god saved trump in preference to the classrooms full of kids??
as the americans always say, justice delayed is justice denied.
Most of our post ww2 problems in the middle east stem from the Palestinian issue. It was so easy to fix in 1972 when the cost was a few 747s.
Now it seems Israel can get away with anything……short term. The second issue affecting us is oil. The west has bent over backwards to appease the governments around the middle east. As in supported despotic dictators. Ask Iran how they feel about US interference. How to screw up a country and create another dictator.
The good news is, the EV revolution will consign them to the desert sands they come from. Israel is slowly but surely stripping away its cloak of legitimacy. The Jewish vote and/or money is still a precious thing to most governments. It may take a while……..The two issues i believe are intertwined. Then along comes a dick called Elon that starts the transition and suddenly goes apeshit supporting a lunatic. two steps forward, one step back.
As we speak, Benjamin Netanyahu is boarding a jet to take him to the US where he will address the US Congress and call on Biden and Trump to escalate their delivery of armaments to allow him to step-up his ‘defence of Israel’ which in his terms means the continued Annihilation of life and property in Gaza.
It will be interesting to see what concessions Netanyahu will make in light of this ICJ judgement…..but don’t hold your breath as he will not be addressing the UN General Assembly.
In their quest for the Jewish vote, neither the Democrats nor the Republicans are likely to make any criticism of Israel.
The ICJ’s judgment has always been my stance on Israel. Stick to the original UN mandated borders; get your expansionist settlers off the land they stole, return it to the people from whom they stole it; rebuild what you broke; repay where appropriate; treat the non-Jewish and non-Israeli Palestinians as you treat your own.
In other words, be decent people and a decent nation rather than vicious, thieving arseholes.
But, under the current leadership, there’s no chance of that happpening.
The comments add up to some perspective, but the hard facts are very unpalatable to Netanyahu, of relatively recent Lithuanian descent, and no proven paperwork evidence of ancient “rights”. There was a Palestine up to 1948, legally so, and it was smashed in a policy of grabbing that entailed murder, theft, everlasing criminalty. The world betrayed the residents of Palestine then to solve an older “problem” of gettng rid of the Jews, who caused “trouble” throughout the ages. It is a sick, insoluable problem.
And of course the zionist scum that call themselves israelis totally reject the verdict like they have every other report or decision that criticises them in any way. This time going as far as to claim they can’t encroach on what is already theirs by divine right claiming they are the “chosen” ones?!?
I am so disgusted by religion still being used as a reason to maim and slaughter people by the thousands, including large numbers of women and children. And I am even more disgusted by the “great Satan’ weaponising israel and giving them carte blanche to steal what was never theirs in the first place by arming them to the teeth with powerful military weapons they are happy to use against a civilian population in a genocidal manner while the world’s powers stand by and do next to nothing to stop them.
The zionists will not stop until they steal every last part of what was Palestine and either, wipe them all out of existence, or, remove every single one of them from within their borders. And with the ridiculous convicted felon looking likely to get back in the big chair the zionists will feel even more protected to do as they please.
GOD said it was their land, nobody else’s.
Abraham was a real person and the world was created in 6 days.
Got it!