Brazilian diplomat Maria Clara de Paula Tusco cut to the chase in her address today to the International Court of Justice, as part of its week-long hearings on “Israeli practices affecting the human rights of the Palestinian people in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem.” Israel’s occupation and imposition of apartheid on Palestine must end for world peace to be secured. She told the Court:
“The importance of the matter and the gravity of the situation in the Palestinian occupied territories were indisputable even before 7 October 2023. The tragic events of that date, and the disproportionate and indiscriminate military operations that followed, however, make it glaringly clear that the mere management of the conflict cannot be considered an option, and that a two-State solution, with an economically viable Palestinian State living side by side with Israel, is the only way to provide peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians.”
Tusco acknowledged that the ICJ’s mandate in the case under discussion did not include such opinions. The UN General Assembly had requested only that it rule on two main questions, which she cited: “What are the legal consequences arising from the ongoing violation by Israel of the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination by its ongoing occupation, settlement and annexation of Palestinian territory…?”; and “How do the policies and practices of Israel … affect the legal status of the occupation, and what are the legal consequences that arise for all States and the United Nations from this status?”
