ICJ: US Says Israel Shouldn't Be Ordered to Leave Palestinian Territory

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Facts

  • The US argued at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Wednesday that Israel should not be ordered to withdraw from Palestinian territories it captured in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war without security guarantees that take into account 'Israel’s very real security needs.'1
  • Several countries, including South Africa and Saudi Arabia, have called for Israel to withdraw from the West Bank and Gaza, with the ICJ being asked to review Israel's 'occupation, settlement and annexation' to include 'its adoption of related discriminatory legislation and measures.'2
  • Meanwhile, Israel's Knesset decided 'to oppose any attempt to unilaterally impose a Palestinian state on Israel' with 99 votes in support of the motion in the 120-seat body. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that international pressure endangered Israel and prevented peace.3
  • In Gaza, intense fighting flared in the enclave's north, a region in which the Israeli military previously said it had completed operations. The military issued evacuation orders for two neighborhoods south of Gaza City on Tuesday, with reports of heavy fighting and airstrikes.4
  • The UN World Food Program (WFP) announced on Tuesday that it will pause deliveries of food aid to northern Gaza, citing unsafe conditions for its employees and 'the collapse of civil order' in the area. The agency warned that northern Gaza could see mass famine by May if conditions don't improve 'decisively.'5
  • Gaza's health ministry reports that the conflict has killed over 29K people in the Gaza Strip, the majority of whom were women and children. The war has also created a rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation. The official Israeli death toll on Oct. 7 stands at around 1.2K people (and there are still over 100 hostages being held in the Gaza Strip).6

Sources: 1Washington Post, 2Al Jazeera, 3Jerusalem Post, 4The Times of Israel, 5World Food Program USA and 6Associated Press.

Narratives

  • Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by CBS. Israel must be able to defend itself from terrorist attacks, whether from Gaza or elsewhere, and the US is committed to preventing malicious actors from minimizing Israel's legitimate security concerns. However, Netanyahu is going too far with the war in Gaza, and he must be willing to follow through on his promises and compromise as needed so that another extended truce can take effect, which will hopefully lead to a more permanent resolution to this conflict. The Biden administration is losing its patience with Netanyahu's intransigence.
  • Pro-Israel narrative, as provided by Jerusalem Post. The ICJ has no authority over Israel and is cynically accusing the country of committing crimes akin to those committed by dictators like Vladimir Putin, which is both delusional and illegitimate. A small fraction of Israeli soldiers, of course, likely have committed crimes, but Israel justly prosecutes them. Unlike the myriad of brutal autocracies one may find just across the Middle East, it's simply absurd to assume that Israel, a democratic state, would be guilty of the systematic war crimes it is accused of as it fights terrorism.
  • Pro-Palestine narrative, as provided by Middle East Eye. Israeli forces are committing daily massacres in the Gaza Strip, demonstrating the urgency with which the international community must apply more pressure on Israel and the US to accept a permanent cease-fire and end this brutal campaign. The US is effectively isolating itself from its Arab partners and the rest of the world by diverging from even its Western allies in terms of its support for Israel's slaughter. To get the hostages back, Israel must withdraw from Gaza and end the bloodshed.

Predictions