US backs Israeli offensive in occupied Palestinian territories, calls on UN court to 'carefully calibrate' advice

By Nur Asena Erturk

The US delegation on Wednesday backed Israel's military offensive in the occupied Palestinian territories and called on the International Court of Justice to "carefully calibrate" its advice.

The American representative, Richard Visek, mostly justified, during the public hearings at The Hague, Israel's military activities in the region, and said: "Any movement towards Israel withdrawal from the West Bank and Gaza requires consideration of Israel's very real security needs. We were all reminded of those security needs on October 7, and they persist."

He regretted that "those needs have been ignored by many of their participants in asserting how the court should consider the questions before it," and that the US position was questioned.

"With respect to duration, international law does not impose specific time limits on an occupation. That said, belligerent occupation is a temporary measure for administering territory under the control of belligerent armed forces," he justified. "In this regard, it would not, as some participants suggest, be conducive to achievement of the established framework to issue an opinion that calls for a unilateral, immediate, and unconditional withdrawal by Israel. That does not account for Israel's legitimate security needs."

Visek noted that the US was more resolved to "urgently achieve a final peace, that includes the full realization of Palestinian self-determination," following the ongoing hostilities and "the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza, and the violence in the West Bank."

Despite supporting Israel's "security needs," Visek also put emphasis on the need for a two-state solution.

"The current crisis illustrates the vital need to achieve this peace, this final peace with a Palestinian state living safely and securely alongside a secure Israel, fully integrated into the region," he further said.

Visek also noted that violence and unilateral actions cannot resolve this conflict, and "negotiations are the path to lasting peace."

The US representative, however, called on the ICJ to "carefully calibrate" its advice.

"The challenge for the court is how to provide its advice in a way that promotes the framework rather than disrupting its balance, potentially making the possibility of negotiations even more difficult. For these reasons, we respectfully encourage the court to carefully calibrate its advice in this proceeding, to support and promote final realization of peace and stability within the established UN framework set out in Security Council resolutions 242 and 338," he concluded.

The public hearings started on 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 Territory, including East Jerusalem.

Colombia, Cuba, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, and the US presented their arguments in Wednesday's first session.

South Africa brought a genocide case against Israel to the ICJ in late December and asked it for emergency measures to end the bloodshed in Gaza, where more than 29,000 Palestinians 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 incursion 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 holds around 1.4 million refugees.