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The President of the Republic of The Gambia and Chairman of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), His Excellency Adama Barrow, approved The Gambia’s participation in the advisory opinion proceedings. The Gambia’s participation consisted of a written statement and oral submissions made by the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, His Excellency Dauda Jallow, at a court hearing earlier this year.
The Gambia’s written statement mainly raised four points, all of which were accepted by the Court: first, Israel’s occupation is illegal because it violates the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination; second, Israel’s occupation is illegal because it constitutes an apartheid system; third, Israel’s occupation is illegal because it violates international law on the use of force; and fourth, Israel’s occupation must end immediately.
The Court found that “Israel’s continued abuse of its status as an occupying Power through its annexation of the Occupied Palestinian Territory and its assertion of permanent control over that territory, as well as its ongoing obstruction of the Palestinian people’s exercise of their right to self-determination, violates fundamental principles of international law and renders Israel’s presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory illegal.” The Court also found that “Israeli legislation and measures impose and maintain a near-total separation between settler and Palestinian communities in the West Bank and East Jerusalem” and that this physical and legal separation “violates Article 3 of the Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination,” which prohibits racial segregation and apartheid.
The Court further found that Israel’s “attempt to acquire sovereignty over the occupied territories … violated the prohibition of the use of force in international relations and its corollary principle of non-acquisition of territory by force.”
Finally, the court ruled that “Israel is under an obligation to end its presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory as soon as possible.”
The Gambia welcomes this historic and significant ruling by the ICJ and calls on Israel, all States and the United Nations to abide by its findings and conclusions.
The Gambia will continue to work actively at the United Nations to uphold the rights of the Palestinian people under international law.
Source: State Legislature
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