Today is the deadline set by the International Court of Justice for states and organizations to present written statements on the legal consequences of Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory.

The Hague-based ICJ is the top UN court dealing with disputes between states.

Its rulings are binding, though the ICJ has no power to enforce them.

The UN asked the court in December 2022 for an advisory legal opinion on Israel’s ‘occupation, settlement, and annexation … including measures aimed at altering the demographic composition, character, and status of the Holy City of Jerusalem, and from its adoption of related discriminatory legislation and measures’.

The UN also wants the ICJ to advise on how those policies and practices ‘affect the legal status of the occupation’ and what legal consequences arise for all countries and the UN from this status.

The ICJ ruled in 2004 that Israel’s wall in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem was illegal.

Israel rejected that ruling, accusing the court of being politically motivated.

Agencies/Aljazeera.