The United Nations' International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued an advisory opinion on Friday, declaring Israel's occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem illegal.
As per multiple outlets, the court urged Israel to end its presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory as quickly as possible.
Though not legally binding, advisory opinions from the ICJ hold significant moral weight and can influence international law.
Judge Nawaf Salam, the president of the ICJ, stated, "large-scale confiscation of land and the degradation of access to natural resources divests the local population of their basic means of subsistence thus inducing their departure."
The court also noted that declaring Jerusalem as Israel’s capital has further solidified its control over the occupied territories.
Meanwhile, Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, dismissed the ICJ's opinion.
Netanyahu stated, "The Jewish people are not conquerors in their own land. No false decision in The Hague will distort this historical truth, just as the legality of Israeli settlement in all the territories of our homeland cannot be contested."
While, Foreign Minister Israel Katz also criticized the opinion, calling it "fundamentally warped, one-sided, and wrong."
