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THE HAGUE/ WAM
Today, Ambassador Lana Zaki Nusseibeh, Assistant Minister for Political Affairs and UAE’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York, advocated for the fulfilment of the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination and the two-state solution, as the head of the United Arab Emirates delegation to the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands.
In December 2022, the United Nations General Assembly requested that the ICJ provide an advisory opinion on the legal consequences arising from Israel’s policies and practices in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem.
Ambassador Lana Nusseibeh emphasised the significance of the ICJ’s advisory opinion in the realisation of the two-state solution, with Palestine and Israel living side by side. She underscored that Israel’s violations imperil the two-state solution, and discussed in this context the devastating, ongoing war in the Gaza Strip, and Israel’s escalating violations in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem where settlement construction and settler violence have reached record levels.
Ambassador Nusseibeh explained the legal consequences of Israel’s unlawful actions for Israel, the UN and all countries.
“56 years of the occupation of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip have been shaped by Israel’s consistent grave violations against the Palestinian people. Israel’s occupation is illegal and must end,” Ambassador Nusseibeh said.
The proceedings before the Court underlined the urgency of the situation, with the UN General Assembly seeking the ICJ’s guidance on questions related to Israel’s ongoing violation of the inalienable right to self-determination for the Palestinian people.
“After decades of violent dehumanisation, dispossession, and despair that has marked the Israeli occupation, violations resulting from that occupation in all parts of the Occupied Palestinian Territory are worsening at an alarming pace. The UAE is confident that the Court has before it ample evidence to assist it in identifying those violations and determining their legal consequences,” Ambassador Nusseibeh added.
The UAE expressed confidence that the ICJ’s advisory opinion on the legal consequences of Israel’s violations will contribute significantly to international efforts aimed at achieving a peaceful resolution of the conflict in accordance with international law.
“International law cannot be an à la carte menu; it must apply equally to all. And it is all the more essential in the long shadow cast by the Palestinian question: an injustice that has persisted for more than seven decades, and which implicates the most fundamental principles of the international system — of self-determination, of human rights, and of our most basic and universal yearning for peace, justice, and freedom,” Ambassador Nusseibeh underscored.
The ICJ’s advisory proceedings are an important step towards reinforcing a just and lasting solution. The United Arab Emirates remains steadfast in its commitment to fostering peace, justice, and the realisation of the rights of the Palestinian people.