The Diplomat
The Spanish Government has welcomed the advisory opinion issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in which it determines that the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories is “illegal.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement on Friday night indicating that “Spain welcomes the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice that responds to the request of the United Nations General Assembly to assess the consequences of the occupation of the Palestinian territories”.
In the opinion of the Spanish Executive, said opinion “includes important pronouncements of the Court on the illegality of the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories and on the settlements, among other aspects.”
Thus, the Government urges “the UN and the international community to take into consideration the conclusions of the opinion and to adopt the appropriate measures in this regard”, without expressly citing Israel, which is the one to whom the opinion is most directly addressed, which However, it is not binding.
In its opinion, the ICJ considers that Israel’s continued presence in the Palestinian territories is illegal and that it is obliged not only to end this presence, but also not to authorize further settlements and to evacuate Israeli settlers already there. . Likewise, he maintains that he has the obligation to pay reparations for the damage caused.
On the other hand, it points out that all States have the obligation not to recognize as legal the situation that emanates from the Israeli occupation and that the UN and other international organizations are obliged not to recognize this situation as legal.
Foreign Ministry recalls in the statement that “Spain has participated in the written and oral phases of this consultative procedure.”
Last February, the representatives of the State maintained before the ICJ that the Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territories not only do not have “legal validity” but constitute a “serious obstacle” to the creation of the Palestinian State, which the Government proceeded to officially recognize last June 28th.
In another vein, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, defended that “the two-state solution is the formula to achieve definitive peace in the Middle East,” after the Israeli Parliament approved a resolution this week in the who rejects the establishment of a Palestinian State.
Albares supported in a message on the social network two states.” “Not giving hope or a horizon to the Palestinians will only exacerbate the conflict,” he said.
