The International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Friday confirmed it had officially received a request from the United Nations General Assembly to give an advisory opinion on the legal consequences of Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories.
In a move condemned by Israel and welcome by Palestinians, the General Assembly asked the ICJ last month to give an advisory opinion on the legal consequences of Israel's "occupation, settlement and annexation... including measures aimed at altering the demographic composition, character and status of the Holy City of Jerusalem, and from its adoption of related discriminatory legislation and measures."
The ICJ last weighed in on the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians in 2004, when it ruled that an Israeli separation barrier was illegal. In the same ruling, the ICJ judges said that Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territory "have been established in breach of international law."
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