All states have obligations to end Israel’s unlawful occupation: UN commission

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - International law obligates the UN, its member states and international organizations to end Israel’s unlawful presence in Occupied Palestinian Territory, a UN commission said Friday.

In a legal position paper, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, said that it found the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Israel’s decades-long occupation of Palestinian land “unambiguous.”

In July, the ICJ issued an advisory opinion concluding that Israel’s decades-long occupation and annexation of Palestinian land violates fundamental principles of International Humanitarian Law.

“The Commission has always stated that the root cause of the protracted conflict and cycles of violence is the occupation,” said Navi Pillay, the chair of the commission.

"Israel must immediately put into place a comprehensive plan of action to dismantle settlements and evacuate all settlers from occupied territory," the commission said.

It added: "Israel must return land, title and natural resources to the displaced Palestinians, and repeal all restrictive and discriminatory law and policies."

Pillay underlined that Israel’s "internationally wrongful acts" give rise to state responsibility, not only for Israel, but for all states.

"States must distinguish in their dealings between Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, such as a State must not recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel or place its diplomatic representatives to Israel in Jerusalem," she said.

Israel has launched a brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip following a Hamas attack last year, killing more than 42,400 people, mostly women and children, and injuring over 99,200 others.

The conflict has spread to Lebanon, with Israel launching deadly strikes across the country, which have killed more than 1,500 people and injured over 4,500 others since Sept. 23.

Despite international warnings that the Middle East was on the brink of a regional war amid Israel’s relentless attacks on Gaza and Lebanon, Tel Aviv expanded the conflict by launching a ground incursion into southern Lebanon on Oct. 1.