Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories must end, Qatar tells world court

Qatar made an impassioned plea for an end to the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories during a public hearing at the International Court of Justice in The Hague on Friday.

"There is a growing perception that international law applies to some but not to others. That some people are seen as deserving of security, freedom and self-determination, but others are not. Some children are deemed worthy of the law's protection, but others are killed, and there are thousands," said Qatar's representative before the world court.

"Israel's genocidal war on the people of Gaza has shown that the situation in Palestine is the most pressing threat to international peace and security," he said.

"Israel has denied the Palestinian people's rights to self-determination. It has ethnically influenced and colonized Palestinians lands. Furthermore, it has implemented ... a regime of systematic racial oppression and discrimination established with the intent to maintain the domination of Jewish Israelis over Palestinians," he argued.

The Qatari representative added: "Israel's illegal and discriminatory policies and practices are the tools of a longstanding settler colonial project."

Stressing that "Qatar rejects such double standards," he said "International law must be upheld in all circumstances, it must be applied equally to all and there must be accountability for all violations."

Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas. The ensuing Israeli war has killed more than 29,500 people and caused mass destruction and shortages of necessities. Nearly 70,000 people have been injured.

Around 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack while over 200 were taken back to Gaza as hostages.

The Israeli war on Gaza has pushed 85% of the territory's population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

Hostilities have continued unabated, however, and aid deliveries remain woefully insufficient to address the humanitarian catastrophe.