The document presented by Palestine will reach the General Assembly after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) considered the continued presence of Israel in the area illegal in an advisory opinion issued in July.

After the outbreak of October 7th, 2023, the General Assembly was the first body to approve a resolution for a ceasefire in Gaza, and subsequently gave the green light to the expansion of Palestine’s rights as a member of the United Nations.

The meeting is of special importance, as it would respond to the ICJ Advisory Opinion that expressly asks member organizations and states to “take measures” against the Israeli presence in the West Bank.

The UN General Assembly also demanded “an immediate cessation of all new settlement activities” and recommended that other states should not recognize Israel’s illegal presence in Palestinian areas. “International institutions, including the United Nations, have an obligation not to recognize as legal the situation arising from the illegal presence of the State of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory,” the document further stated.

The ICJ urged other UN bodies such as the General Assembly and the Security Council to consider the precise modalities and additional measures necessary to end as soon as possible the illegal presence of the State of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

The court’s decision is an advisory opinion in response to the request issued in December 2022 by the UN General Assembly.

jrr/llp/lam/ebr