Malta supports UN resolution seeking World Court opinion on Israeli occupation

Malta has supported a UN resolution calling on the International Court of Justice to give an opinion on the legal consequences of Israel’s ongoing occupation of Palestinian territories.

The resolution was approved by the UN General Assembly last week with 87 votes in favour, 26 against and 53 abstentions.

EU member states were split with seven, including Malta, Ireland and Poland, voting in favour, nine against and 11 abstaining. Germany and Italy voted against, while France and Spain abstained.

The US, Israel and UK voted against, while Russia, China and all countries in the Islamic world voted for the resolution.

The Hague-based ICJ, also known as the World Court, is the top UN court dealing with disputes between states. Its rulings are binding, though the ICJ has no power to enforce them.

Palestinian leaders welcomed the vote, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the vote was “despicable”.

The UN General Assembly asked the ICJ 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 UN resolution also asks the ICJ to advise on how those policies and practices “affect the legal status of the occupation” and what legal consequences arise for all countries and the UN from this status.

The ICJ last pronounced itself on Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory in 2004, when it ruled that Israel’s wall in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem was illegal. Israel rejected that ruling, accusing the court of being politically motivated.

The UN vote was held a day after a far-right government took office in Israel and days before the new far-right national security minister Itamar Ben Gvir provocatively visited the Temple Mount Complex in Jerusalem that also houses the Al Aqsa Mosque.

The visit elicited widespread international condemnation, including by the US, and the UN Security Council is expected to discuss the matter later today.

The Security Council meeting was formally requested by the United Arab Emirates and China on behalf of the Palestinian and Jordanian UN missions.

Malta has just started serving its two-year term as a member of the Security Council.