UN refers ICJ’s advisory opinion to General Assembly

NEW YORK, July 20 (YPA) – Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, referred on Friday the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) regarding the legal consequences arising from the policies and practices of the Israeli occupation forces in the occupied Palestinian territories to the General Assembly.

“It is up to the General Assembly to decide how to move forward in this matter,” a statement issued by the United Nations on behalf of Guterres last night said.

He stressed the need for “the parties to re-engage in the long-awaited political path towards ending the occupation and resolving the conflict in line with international law, relevant United Nations resolutions and bilateral agreements.”

“The only viable path is to see two states, living side by side in peace and security within secure and recognized borders, based on the pre-1967 lines, with al Quds city as the capital of the two states,” Guterres added.

On Friday, the ICJ issued an advisory opinion in which it said that Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories is a de facto annexation, indicating that the occupation state’s settlement policies “violate international law.

The ICJ called on countries not to recognize the illegal existence of “Israeli entity in the occupied territories, stressing the necessity of “cooperating among countries with the General Assembly and the Security Council to end the presence of the illegal Israeli occupation in the occupied territories.

It pointed out that the Israeli entity “is required to put an end to the occupation and end its illegal presence in the Palestinian territories.”

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