CIJA rejects the ICJ’s non-binding opinion on Israel's policies towards the Palestinian territories, calls on the government of Canada to do the same

Ottawa, ON – July 19, 2024 – Today, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) delivered its non-binding Advisory Opinion regarding the Legal Consequences arising from the Policies and Practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem. 

In response, Shimon Koffler Fogel, President and CEO, Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), issued the following statement: 

“We reject today’s ICJ opinion as yet another example of the pervasive anti-Israel bias ingrained within the UN system and its entities, a concern which CIJA has conveyed to UN Secretary-General Guterres. While today’s measure is only an advisory opinion, meaning that it is non-binding and does not have force of law, it is part of an ongoing pattern of international courts being politicized by the Palestinians and their allies and used as a form of lawfare against the Jewish State.

“The Court takes away any Palestinian agency, assigns the responsibility for the current situation solely on Israel, overlooks the numerous instances where the Palestinians have rejected potential agreements, de-contextualizes the facts, fails to recognize the Jewish historical, political and religious connection to Jerusalem and distorts history.

“The advisory opinion contradicts UNSC Resolutions 242, 338, and 1515, which collectively enshrine in international law that Israel’s presence in disputed territory (as a result of its lawful exercise of self-defence) is to be addressed only as part of the establishment of a just and lasting peace through direct negotiation.  

“Furthermore, the ICJ’s opinion, issued at the behest of the UN General Assembly (UNGA), was flawed from the outset. Indeed, the UNGA resolution – sponsored and put forth by brutal dictatorships with a history of antisemitism such as Sudan, Venezuela, and Mauritania – denied and denigrated Jewish history and connection to holy sites, including its most important place of pilgrimage, the Western Wall, the more than 2,000-year-old remnant of the Jewish Temple that stood in Jerusalem.   

“Importantly, CIJA takes exception to the Court’s attempt to usurp not only the role of the UN Security Council, but also of member states. This political activism by the Court undermines the foundational values of the UN and weakens the principles of international law.  

“The opinion deals with matters that should be addressed directly by the Israelis and Palestinians, not arbitrated by an international court with a skewed agenda.

“In brief, this advisory opinion is not a legal document but a one-sided political tirade, whose sole purpose is to marginalize and delegitimize the world’s only Jewish state. Accordingly, we call on the Government of Canada to unequivocally reject the Court’s biased and prejudicial advisory opinion that undermines the United Nations, international justice, long-standing Canadian policy, and the pursuit of peace in the Middle East. If Canada genuinely cares about the Court’s credibility, it should denounce the politicization of it. Canada must stand firm and consistent with its own legal opinion sent to the Court in 2023.” 

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