LONDON / PNN 

Erika Guevara-Rosas, Amnesty International’s Senior Director of Research, Advocacy, Policy and Campaigns, today said that the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) advisory opinion on the ‘unlawful’ Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories is a historic victory for the rights of Palestinians.

She clarified in a statement that “the occupation is a fundamental pillar of the apartheid system that Israel relies on to dominate and persecute the Palestinians, as they are exposed to the demolition of their homes and the seizure of their lands in favor of colonist expansion."

Rosas affirmed, “The ICJ’s advisory opinion comes while Israel has continued to blatantly and catastrophically violate international humanitarian law during the past nine months, launching deadly and unlawful attacks on the occupied Gaza Strip, which has claimed the lives of an unprecedented number of civilians.

She stressed that the international community, especially Israel's allies, must now take tough action to ensure that Israel ends its illegal occupation, starting with an immediate halt to the expansion of Israeli colonies, reversing the annexation of Palestinian lands, including East Jerusalem, and dismantling the brutal apartheid system against Palestinians.

"Ending the occupation is crucial in order to stop the recurring pattern of human rights violations throughout Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories," she added.

Rosas  affirmed that Israel must withdraw its forces from all parts of the occupied territories, including the Gaza Strip, evacuate all colonists from the West Bank, including illegally annexed East Jerusalem, and relinquish control over all aspects of Palestinian life.