July 19, 2024: The Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission stated that today’s rulings by the International Court of Justice regarding the illegality of colonisation and occupation, and reaffirming our people’s rights to self-determination and compensation for damages to individuals and properties are considered a new legal victory. This confirms the indigenous status of our people and the legitimacy of our struggle against the occupation and settler-colonial procedures in the Palestinian territories.
The head of the Commission, Minister Moayyad Sha’ban, said that despite this decision being advisory and non-binding in its initial aspect, it still accumulates legal literature supporting Palestine and its people. It also adds to the legal references a fundamental position regarding the illegality of the Israeli occupation and its settler-colonial project.
Mr Sha’ban added, that the timing of the decision, coinciding with the terrible aggression and the plans of annexation, in addition to the genocide the Israeli occupation state is committing against our people in all its places of existence, deals a significant blow to the occupation state that has always took pride in its democracy and being a champion of human rights. He explained that the most important part of these successive decisions was their clear demand to end the illegal occupation that resulted in drastic changes in the lives of Palestinians, their natural resources, and land throughout the years.
Mr Sha’ban emphasized that despite the clarity of this decision and its decisiveness on many issues regarding occupation and illegal colonisation of the land, many steps must be taken urgently on the international level to translate this international stance to action on the ground. This action must force the occupying power to abandon its settler-colonial projects, apartheid measures, annexation, and collective punishment measures and grant Palestinians their right to self-determination just like all nations of the world.
Mr Sha’ban added that the ICJ’s decisions today are considered a victory for our people’s suffering that has accumulated over the long years of occupation and injustice, which would not have been prolonged to this extent had it not been for the international silence and failure to perform its duties in imposing justice. He also stressed that there is no justification now for any country in the world to continue its dealings with the occupation state, which challenges the world and international legitimacy resolutions and has never complied with the decisions of the United Nations and its high-ranking authorities.