Palestinians endure ‘longest protracted occupation in modern history,’ Egypt tells world court

By Ahmed Asmar

ANKARA (AA) – The Palestinian people have endured the “longest protracted occupation in modern history," Egypt told the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Wednesday.

Speaking at a hearing at the Hague-based court on the legality of the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian lands, Egyptian legal representative Jasmine Moussa said Palestinians have faced forced displacement, collective punishment, and random violence by the Israeli occupation.

She said Israeli violations against Palestinians were part of a "wider policy aimed at dispossessing Palestinians of their lands."

“For how much longer do the Palestinian people need to wait before they’re able to exercise their legitimate rights under international law?” Moussa asked.

“For how much longer will the United Nations manage the impacts of Israeli violations without addressing their root cause?”

The Egyptian representative renewed Cairo’s demand for the “establishment of a viable Palestinian state on the pre-1967 lines with East Jerusalem as its capital."

Israel seeks to "permanently alter the demographic composition of the occupied Palestinian territory and extend Israeli sovereignty over it,” Moussa told the world court.

"This is coupled with Israel’s mass forcible transfer and forced displacement of the Palestinians in Gaza through its illegal evacuation orders and indiscriminate use of force," she added.

Public hearings started Monday in The Hague following the UN General Assembly's request for an advisory opinion on the legal consequences arising from policies and practices of Israel in the occupied Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem.

South Africa brought a genocide case against Israel to the ICJ in late December and asked it for emergency measures to end Palestinian bloodshed in Gaza, where nearly 29,300 people have been killed since Oct. 7.

The court in January ordered Israel to take "all measures within its power" to prevent acts of genocide in Gaza but fell short of ordering a cease-fire.

It also ordered Israel to take "immediate and effective" measures to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance in the Gaza Strip.

A cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7 killed an estimated 1,200 people, but the ensuing Israeli offensive into Gaza has pushed 85% of the territory's population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Despite international outcry, Israel now plans a ground invasion of Rafah, which houses around 1.4 million refugees.