The Hague

An Israeli soldier closes an agricultural gate in the West Bank wall after Palestinian farmers crossed through during the olive harvest near the village of 'Azzun 'Atma, occupied West Bank, October 19, 2022. (Anne Paq/Activestills)

‘Israel always sold the occupation as legal. The ICJ now terrifies them’

Palestinian lawyer Diana Buttu unpacks the ICJ opinion on Israel's military regime, and the lessons of turning international law into action.

By Ghousoon Bisharat July 23, 2024

Israeli soldiers operating in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, July 15, 2024. (Oren Cohen/Flash90)

By failing to stop the Gaza genocide, the ICJ is working exactly as intended

The international legal order was built to administer colonial violence, not to end wars — and that poses serious questions for the Palestinian struggle.

By Emilio Dabed July 16, 2024

ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan sworn in at the seat of the International Criminal Court, 16 June 2021. (ICC-CPI)

Surveillance and interference: Israel’s covert war on the ICC exposed

Top Israeli government and security officials have overseen a nine-year surveillance operation targeting the ICC and Palestinian rights groups to try to thwart a war crimes probe, a joint investigation reveals.

By Yuval Abraham and Meron Rapoport May 28, 2024

Latest

Palestinians at the site of a destroyed building from an Israeli air strike in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, May 5, 2024. (Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90)

‘The international legal order needs repair — and Gaza is a part of this’

Al Mezan director Issam Younis explains the obstacles and opportunities for Palestinians following major interventions from the world’s top courts.

By Ghousoon Bisharat May 24, 2024

Palestinians inspect their destroyed house after an Israeli airstrike in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, February 8, 2024. (Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90)

‘What use is this court if it can’t stop the war?’ Gazans react to ICJ ruling

Many Palestinians in Gaza feel dismayed by the ICJ’s failure to demand a ceasefire, fearing its provisional measures will do little to halt the bloodshed.

By Mahmoud Mushtaha and Ruwaida Kamal Amer February 9, 2024

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the 71st UN General Assembly debate at the UN headquarters in New York City, September 22, 2016. (Kobi Gideon/GPO)

Israel shirked accountability for decades. Is the ICJ breaking its armor?

From Ben Gurion to Ben Gvir, Israel's dismissiveness of international sanctions has held strong. But the ruling at The Hague may be cracking that impunity.

By Meron Rapoport February 5, 2024

Israelis look at a giant map of the Gaza Strip depicting future Israeli settlements at the "Conference for Israel's Victory" in Jerusalem, January 28, 2024. (Oren Ziv)

Turning Zeitoun into Shivat Zion: Israeli summit envisions Gaza resettlement

Undeterred by the ICJ, ministers and settler leaders promoted plans to expel Palestinians and ‘return’ Israelis to Gaza at a major conference in Jerusalem.

By Oren Ziv January 30, 2024

Bethlehem Municipality employees raise a South African flag in support of their lawsuit against Israel to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), in the West Bank city of Bethlehem, January 16, 2024. (Wisam Hashlamoun/Flash90)

ICJ case ‘opens new era between the Global North and South,’ says UN expert

Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese discusses South Africa’s charge of genocide in Gaza and the power struggle playing out in the legal arena.

By Alba Nabulsi January 23, 2024

Israeli soldiers from the 8717 Battalion of the Givati Brigade operating in Beit Lahia, in the northern Gaza Strip, during a military operation in the Gaza Strip, December 28, 2023. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Israel’s right to tyranny

In justifying the violent unraveling of Gaza as ‘self-defense,’ Western capitals have once again signed off on Israelis’ license to act like despots.

By Amjad Iraqi January 17, 2024

Palestinians collect drinking water in the city of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, December 23, 2023. (Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90)

In Gaza, Israel has turned water into a weapon of mass destruction

By denying Palestinians safe water since the war began, Israel has created an unparalleled health crisis and risks causing irreversible ecological damage.

By Nancy Murray and Amahl Bishara January 16, 2024

Palestinians wait to receive the bodies of their relatives who were killed in an Israeli airstrike, at Al-Najjar Hospital, southern Gaza Strip, December 7, 2023. (Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90)

Will the ICJ find Israel guilty of genocide?

Attorney Michael Sfard outlines what could play out as the world’s top court decides if and how to intervene in Israel’s war on Gaza.

By Meron Rapoport January 11, 2024

Former Supreme Court President Barak at the International Convention Center in Jerusalem, December 8, 2019. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

At The Hague, Aharon Barak will play Dr. Jekyll to Israel’s Mr. Hyde

As Supreme Court president, Barak provided legal armor for Israel's occupation and façade of democracy. Now he’s back to continue the job.

By Orly Noy January 10, 2024

Israeli authorities installing a new section of the wall around Qalqilya, occupied West Bank, replacing the existing fence which has several holes created by Palestinians for crossing into Israel for work, January 10, 2021. In 2004, the International Court of Justice stated that the West Bank wall is "illegal and must be dismantled." (Keren Manor/Activestills)

After years of diplomatic inertia, what can the ICJ offer Palestinians?

The UN’s vote to request a ruling on the occupation is an indictment of the failure to hold Israel accountable — and carries risks and opportunities alike.

By Hugh Lovatt January 1, 2023