Qatar has told the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that it rejects “double standards” when international law applies to some but not others during a hearing on the occupation of Palestinian territories by Israel.
“Some children are deemed worthy of protection while others are killed by the thousands,” senior Qatari diplomat Mutlaq al-Qahtani said in The Hague on Friday.
“Qatar rejects these double standards. International law must be respected in all circumstances. It must apply to everyone and there must be accountability.”
Al-Qahtani added that Israel had implemented an “apartheid regime” to maintain the “domination of Israeli Jews over Palestinians.”
He also declared that the occupation is “illegal” because it violates the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination.
The Court has “a clear mandate and even responsibility to remedy this unacceptable situation. The credibility of the international legal order depends on your opinion, and the stakes cannot be higher.”
Qatar, the United States and Egypt are currently negotiating a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas to end the ongoing war, which is wreaking havoc among Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip.
Over the past week, the ICJ heard views from more than 50 countries on the legal implications of the Israeli occupation before issuing a non-binding opinion.
The panel of 15 judges was charged with examining Israel’s “occupation, colonization and annexation, … including measures aimed at altering the demographic composition, character and status of the Holy City of Jerusalem, as well as as the adoption of laws and related discriminatory measures”.
But Qatar echoed similar statements from several countries calling Israeli policies a violation of international law, including South Africa, which also called the occupation “apartheid.”
Representatives from several other countries, including Pakistan, Norway, Indonesia and the United Kingdom, spoke at Friday’s hearing.
Pakistani Minister of Law and Justice Ahmed Irfan Aslam said that although Israel had tried to make its occupation of the Palestinian territories irreversible, history has shown that change is possible, referring to the withdrawal of French settlers from Algeria in 1962.
He added that a two-state solution “must be the basis of peace.”
Norway’s representative said developments on the ground “give reason to question whether the occupation is turning into a de facto annexation,” which is prohibited under international law.
Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, who said she left the G20 meeting in Brazil to personally address the ICJ, said: “I stand before you to defend justice against a blatant violation of humanitarian law international commitment committed by Israel.
Marsudi added that Israel’s “illegal occupation” should not be normalized or recognized, that any actions that hinder the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination “will be illegal” and that it is clear that its “regime of apartheid” violates international law.
The British representative was the only one to depart from what other countries had said Friday and align with the United States, which called on the court to refuse to issue an advisory opinion.
The representative said that although the Israeli occupation is illegal, it is a “bilateral dispute” and that issuing an opinion would affect the security framework led by the United Nations Security Council.
These hearings constitute, in part, a push by Palestinian officials to get international legal institutions to investigate the Israeli occupation, particularly in light of the current war against Gaza.
Over the past four months and following the October 7 Hamas attacks in southern Israel, which killed 1,139 Israelis, Israel has waged a military campaign in Gaza, which has resulted in the deaths of more than 29,000 Palestinians.
In the occupied West Bank, settler violence has increased and world leaders have imposed sanctions to try to penalize and curb the attacks.
Israel, which is not attending the hearing, said the legal proceedings could harm achieving any sort of negotiated settlement.