Rashwan: Egypt submits memorandum to ICJ on Israel practices breaching int’l legitimacy

alhadath – cairo

Head of the State Information Service Diaa Rashwan announced Egypt’s participation in the advisory opinion requested by the United Nations General Assembly from the International Court of Justice regarding Israeli policies and practices in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, indicating that Egypt has submitted a memorandum to the court and will present oral arguments before the court on February 21 of this year.

In a statement released on Sunday, Rashwan stated that the oral argument includes confirming the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice to consider the advisory opinion, considering the United Nations General Assembly as one of the authorized bodies under the organization’s charter to request an advisory opinion from the court.

This is because the matter concerns the legal dimensions of the Israeli settlements unlawfully established in the occupied Palestinian territories, which violate the principles of international law and international legitimacy resolutions, he added.

He explained that regarding the advisory opinion, the Egyptian memorandum includes affirming the illegitimacy of the Israeli occupation that has lasted for more than 75 years, in violation of the principles of international humanitarian law, as well as policies of annexation of territories, demolition of homes, expulsion, displacement, and deportation of Palestinians, in violation of the rules of international law, including the right to self-determination for the Palestinian people and the prohibition of land seizure through the use of armed force.

The memorandum also includes rejection of Israeli policies of persecution, racial discrimination, and other practices that flagrantly violate the principles of international humanitarian law and international human rights law.

Rashwan also noted that the Egyptian memorandum and oral argument demand the court to confirm Israel’s responsibility for all these unlawful acts internationally, necessitating Israel’s immediate withdrawal from the occupied Palestinian territories, including east Jerusalem, and compensating the Palestinian people for the damages incurred as a result of these unlawful policies and practices internationally. Additionally, it calls on all countries and the international community not to recognize any legal effect of Israeli actions and to refrain from providing support to Israel, and for international organizations and the United Nations to fulfill their responsibilities in this regard.