[1] Israel has occupied the Palestinian territories, which comprise the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip, since 1967, making it the longest military occupation in modern history.

In January 2023, the ICJ acknowledged the UNGA's request for an advisory opinion on the legal consequences arising from Israel's policies and practices in the occupied Palestinian territories.

[7][8][2][9][10] The court's advisory opinion was delivered on 19 July 2024, determining that the Palestinian territories constitute one political unit and that Israel's occupation since 1967, and the subsequent creation of Israeli settlements and exploitation of natural resources, are illegal under international law.

The court also ruled that Israel should pay full reparations to the Palestinian people for the damage the occupation has caused,[11][12] and determined that its policies violate the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.

[24][25] Paragraph 18 of the resolution[26] requests the Court to render an advisory opinion on the following questions: (a) What are the legal consequences arising from the ongoing violation by Israel of the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, from its prolonged occupation, settlement and annexation of the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including measures aimed at altering the demographic composition, character and status of the Holy City of Jerusalem, and from its adoption of related discriminatory legislation and measures?

Riyad al-Maliki, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of the State of Palestine, hailed the resolution as "a diplomatic and legal success and achievement".

Days prior to the final vote, in an attempt to impede the referral of the conflict to The Hague, then-Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid wrote to 50 countries urging them not to support it in the General Assembly.

[36][37][38] Although France abstained in the General Assembly on the resolution which requested the advisory opinion from the Court, France submitted a statement to the Court of around 20 pages, in which it reaffirms the illegal nature of colonization, recounts the legal obligations of the occupier in the occupied territories, including East Jerusalem, and notes the risk of an annexation by fait accompli.

[78][79]: 65  It also found that all states, and institutions such as the U.N. Security Council and the United Nations General Assembly, are under an obligation not to recognise the occupation as legal nor "render aid or assistance" toward maintaining Israel's presence in the occupied territories.

[80][81] Among the breaches of international law, the court identified practices such as forcible evictions, pervasive house demolitions and restrictions on residence and movement, the transfer and retention of settlers into East Jerusalem and the West Bank, the failure to protect Palestinians from settler violence, placing restrictions on access to water, the extension of Israeli law into the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and the exploitation by Israel of resources in the occupied territories.