Court rules Israel presence ‘unlawful’

The top UN court has ruled Israel’s presence in the occupied Palestinian territories is ‘‘unlawful’’ and called on it to end and for settlement construction to stop immediately, issuing an unprecedented condemnation of Israel’s rule over the lands it captured 57 years ago.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu quickly denounced the nonbinding opinion issued by the 15-judge panel of the International Court of Justice, saying the territories are part of the Jewish people’s historic ‘‘homeland’’. But the resounding breadth of the decision could affect international opinion and fuel moves for unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state.

The judges pointed to a wide list of policies, including the building and expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, use of the area’s natural resources, the annexation and imposition of permanent control over lands and discriminatory policies against Palestinians, all of which it said violated international law.

The court said Israel had no right to sovereignty in the territories, was violating international laws against acquiring territory by force and was impeding Palestinians’ right to self-determination. It said other nations were obliged not to ‘‘render aid or assistance in maintaining’’ Israel’s presence in the territories. It said Israel must end settlement construction immediately and existing settlements must be removed, according to a summary of the more than 80-page opinion read out by court president Nawaf Salam.

Israel’s ‘‘abuse of its status as the occupying power’’ renders its ‘‘presence in the occupied Palestinian territory unlawful’’, the court said.

The court’s opinion, sought by the UN General Assembly after a Palestinian request, came against the backdrop of Israel’s devastating military assault on Gaza, which was triggered by the Hamas-led attacks in southern Israel on October 7. In a separate case, the International Court of Justice is considering a South African claim that Israel’s campaign in Gaza amounts to genocide, a claim that Israel vehemently denies.

The court said the General Assembly and Security Council – where staunch Israeli ally the US holds a veto – should consider ‘‘the precise modalities’’ to end Israel’s presence in the territories.

Israel, which normally considers the UN and international tribunals as unfair and biased, didn’t send a legal team to the hearings. Instead, it submitted written comments, saying the questions put to the court are prejudiced and fail to address Israeli security concerns. Israeli officials have said the court’s intervention could undermine the peace process, which has been stagnant for more than a decade.

‘‘The Jewish people are not conquerors in their own land – not in our eternal capital Jerusalem and not in the land of our ancestors in Judea and Samaria,’’ Netanyahu said, using the biblical terms for the West Bank. ‘‘No false decision in The Hague will distort this historical truth and likewise the legality of Israeli settlement in all the territories of our homeland cannot be contested.’’

Riad Malki, an adviser to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, called the opinion ‘‘a watershed moment for Palestine, for justice and for international law’’.