TRANSCRIPT
Pro-Palestinian protesters gathered outside the United Nations' top court in The Hague to call for a ceasefire in Gaza.
The International Court of Justice has begun a week of historic hearings into the legality of Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories since the 1967 Six-Day War.
The case follows a 2022 request from the United Nations General Assembly for a non-binding advisory opinion on Israel’s policies in the occupied West Bank, the Gaza Strip and annexed East Jerusalem.
But it comes against the backdrop of the current Israel-Hamas war, which immediately became a focal point of the day.
Ali Shana, a protester from Jordan, called for a stronger international stance against Israel's military operations in Gaza.
“By all the different governments, by the European countries, by the West, by all countries in the world. We are seeing some countries standing up and start to do some things but definitely nowhere near enough given the severity of what's been going on.”
Among those voicing a stronger position is China, one of the 51 countries scheduled to speak at the hearings over six days.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning has said China supports what she described as the "just cause" of the Palestinian people, calling for an end to a planned Israeli offensive in Rafah.
“China attaches great importance to the situation in the Rafah area and opposes and condemns actions that harm civilians and violate international law. We call on Israel to immediately cease military operations, make every effort to avoid civilian casualties, and prevent a more serious humanitarian disaster in the Rafah area.”
Israel is not scheduled to attend the hearings but has submitted a written statement, saying an advisory opinion would be "harmful" to attempts to resolve the conflict.
It has described the questions posed by the General Assembly as "prejudiced".
This comes after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected a separate ICJ ruling in a case brought by South Africa which alleged Israel's campaign in Gaza amounted to genocide.
That ruling rejected South Africa's request to apply more pressure to halt the Rafah offensive, but said Israel was bound to comply with existing measures, including protecting Palestinian civilians from harm and allowing in humanitarian aid.
MNeanwhile, former prime minister and Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz has warned the offensive will go ahead by the Muslim festival of Ramadan.
“If by Ramadan (Israeli) hostages are not home, the fighting will continue everywhere, to include (the) Rafah area. We will do so in a coordinated manner, facilitating the evacuation of civilians, in dialogue with our American and Egyptian partners to minimise the civilian casualties as much as possible.”
China is the latest country to voice its condemnation of the offensive on Rafah, where around 1.5 million people - well over half of Gaza's population - are sheltering from intense fighting in other parts of the territory.
Gaza's health ministry says more than 29,000 people have been killed since Hamas' October the 7th attacks, while U-N officials estimate a quarter of the population is starving.
Giving evidence at the ICJ, Palestinian U-N Envoy Riyad Mansour has accused Israel of colonialism and apartheid, a claim which Israel rejects.
He alleges Israel has broken international territorial law through its recent occupation of Gaza and of the West Bank since 1967, as well as the annexation of East Jerusalem in 1980.
“What does international law mean for Palestinian children and Gaza today? It has protected neither them nor their childhood. It has not protected their families or communities. It has not protected their lives or limbs, their hopes or homes. We are a proud and resilient people that has endured more than its share of agony. It is so painful to be Palestinian today.”
Israel has said Rafah is Hamas' last major stronghold and it must attack in order to complete its war against the militant group.
But domestic support for a ceasefire is growing, with hundreds of protesters in Jerusalem calling for a deal to bring back the around 100 hostages still being held by Hamas in Gaza.
Israel says 130 hostages are still in Gaza, but AFP reports 30 are believed to have died since October 7th.
Paul Reichler, one of the lawyers representing Palestinians at the I-C-J, has argued an end to Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories would benefit both sides.
“The best and possibly the last hope for the two-state solution that is so vital to the needs of both peoples is for the court to declare illegal the main obstacle to that solution: the ongoing Israeli occupation of Palestine; and for it to pronounce in the clearest possible terms that international law requires that this entire illegal enterprise be terminated completely, unconditionally and immediately.”
Among those still to speak are Israel's strongest supporter, the United States, Russia, South Africa and Egypt.
The ICJ's 15-judge panel is then expected to take six months to issue an opinion.
