This illegality encompasses the West Bank, including Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem, as well as the blockaded Gaza Strip, which remains to be considered occupied under international law despite the 2005 Israeli disengagement.
Israel's policies and practices in the occupied West Bank, including the construction and expansion of Israeli settlements, have amounted to de facto annexation that is illegal under international law.
[6] Eyal Benvenisti suggested that refusal by an occupier to engage in good faith with efforts to reach a peaceful solution should not only be considered illegal but as outright annexation.
On 20 October 2022, the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory released a report[10] to the United Nations General Assembly, calling on the Security Council to end Israel’s "permanent occupation" and on individual UN member states to prosecute Israeli officials.
[13] The International Court of Justice (ICJ) accepted a request from the United Nations (UN) for an advisory opinion on the Legal consequences arising from the policies and practices of Israel in the occupied Palestinian territory including East Jerusalem.
[14] On 19 July 2024, the court found Israel's continued presence in Palestine to be illegal, citing Israeli policies that violate the Geneva Convention and amount to annexation.
[46] Azarova also suggested that unlawfully prolonged occupations can also "be treated as manifestations of outlawed colonial practices of foreign domination, political subjugation, and economic exploitation".
[2] Vito Todeschini argues that the prolonged and indefinite nature of the occupation of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, makes it illegal under both jus ad bellum and international humanitarian law.
[56] This page is subject to the extended confirmed restriction related to the Arab-Israeli conflict.Legal Consequences arising from the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, was a proceeding before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the highest legal body of the United Nations (UN), stemming from a resolution adopted by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in December 2022 requesting the Court to render an advisory opinion relating to the legality of the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories.
[57] 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.
[63][64][58][65][66] 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,[67][68] and determined that its policies violate the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
[36] Azarova has encouraged European Union policymakers to uphold the legal obligation of non-recognition of violations of international law—including Israel's de facto annexation of the West Bank—and to "rethink a failed peace-making model".