International Court of Justice receives 15 written comments on Israeli policies in occupied Palestinian land

By Ahmed Asmar

ANKARA (AA) - The International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Wednesday said it has officially received 15 written comments on the legal consequences of the policies and practices of Israel in the occupied Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem.

In a statement cited by official Palestinian news agency Wafa, the court said 14 written comments were submitted by the Oct. 25 deadline from Jordan, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Qatar, Belize, Bangladesh, Palestine, the US, Indonesia, Chile, the Arab League, Egypt, Algeria, Guatemala, and Namibia.

In addition, the court approved a late filing from Pakistan on Nov. 2 to be added.

The world court's public hearings are set to start next Feb. 19 in the Dutch city of The Hague, where the court meets.

Last December, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution seeking the world court's opinion on the legal consequences of Israel's illegal occupation of Palestinian territories.

The resolution passed 87-26 with 53 abstentions.

Around 666,000 settlers live in 145 settlements and 140 random outposts (not licensed by the Israeli government) in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, according to the Israeli nongovernmental organization Peace Now.

Under international law, all Jewish settlements in the occupied territories are considered illegal.

The UN has reported that since Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel, 820 Palestinians have been displaced in the West Bank, and attacks by Israeli settlers have increased from an average of three to seven per day.

Since Oct. 7, more than 400 attacks were carried out in the region, resulting in death of nine Palestinians.

Palestinians emphasize that the constant expansion of illegal Jewish settlements is one of the biggest threats to the establishment of a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders and is causing fragmentation in the West Bank.

Armed Jewish settlers living in these areas frequently attack Palestinians and force them to leave their homes.

Israeli and international human rights organizations accuse Israeli forces of protecting the settlers who carry out these attacks.