Israel has opted not to send a representative to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for a Monday hearing on the legality of its actions in the West Bank, reports JNS.
According to the report, this decision was made by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior officials. Netanyahu criticized the resolution, stating, “The Jewish people are not occupying their land and are not occupying their eternal capital Jerusalem. No U.N. resolution can distort this historical truth.”
The hearing’s outcome, while nonbinding, could influence international perception and legal actions, such as those by the International Criminal Court (ICC), which announced investigations into alleged Israeli war crimes in 2021.
Jonathan Turner, CEO of UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI), told JNS that while there is no direct connection between the two courts, an unfavorable outcome for Israel in the ICJ case could potentially motivate the ICC to intensify its own investigation.
“The verdict won’t be legally binding, but a lot of people will regard it as authoritative and treat it as if it were an accurate statement of the law. It will be quite difficult to displace it in anything but the most friendly tribunals,” he said.
