The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel has released its position paper, unequivocally stating that Israel has been violating the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination through its prolonged occupation, settlement activities, and annexation of Palestinian territory since 1967.
Titled “Legal Consequences of Israel’s Policies and Practices in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Including East Jerusalem,” the paper is a part of the UM General Assembly’s resolution calling on the International Court of Justice to issue an advisory opinion regarding Israel’s occupation of Palestinian land.
The commission found that “the legal consequence of violating the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination, an obligation towards all, rests with the State of Israel.”
The committee affirmed that “the Israeli occupation, which has persisted for 56 years, is illegal under international law,” emphasizing that unlawful actions require legal consequences for Israel to put an end to “internationally unlawful acts.” It stressed that all nations and the United Nations are obligated to take immediate action to halt these unlawful actions.
On May 27, 2021, the United Nations Human Rights Council granted the investigation committee its mandate to investigate “within the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, and inside Israel, all alleged violations of international humanitarian law and all alleged violations and abuses of international human rights law since April 13, 2021.”
