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One year ago on Saturday, the International Court of Justice a landmark advisory opinion. The world’s highest interstate court determined on July 19, 2024, that Israel’s occupation of the West Bank including East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip was “unlawful” and must be brought to an end.

The key paragraph was crystal clear. It stated: “The sustained abuse by Israel of its position as an occupying power, through annexation and an assertion of permanent control over the Occupied Palestinian Territory and continued frustration of the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, violates fundamental principles of international law and renders Israel’s presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory unlawful.”

It also ruled that Israel’s discriminatory legislation and measures are also in breach of international law. They constituted a breach of Article 3 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which prohibits racial segregation and apartheid.

This was an authoritative determination on the state of the law on a specific issue. It was fortified by a UN General Assembly resolution last September endorsing the advisory opinion and demanding that the Israeli occupation ends by September 2025. There is more chance of Benjamin Netanyahu knocking on the doors of the International Criminal Court and saying, “here I am, arrest me, I am guilty as charged,” than there is of that happening.

Israel has to dismantle its settlements and evacuate settlers. It has to do so immediately. And its military presence also needs to be withdrawn. The court determined that Israel owes full reparation for all the damage done by its illegal acts since 1967. Working out the exact compensation due will be some process, but the end figure will have many digits.

The court determined that Israel owes full reparation for all the damage done by its illegal acts since 1967

Chris Doyle

Showing the sort of contempt that might be expected from a government perpetrating genocide in Gaza, Israel has simply doubled down on its occupation. Settlements are expanding faster than ever, with approval for the doomsday settlement of E1 east of Jerusalem going forward apace. Settler violence is off the charts, with more than 740 settler attacks in the first half of 2025, according to the UN. Demolitions are a daily event. Israel has forcibly displaced more than 40,000 Palestinians in the West Bank alone, as well as nearly the entire population of Gaza. Rather than end the occupation, the Israeli government is pushing relentlessly toward annexation.

Occupation in and of itself is not illegal. It may even be necessary. But it is meant to be temporary and is governed by international law, particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949. At the time the court’s opinion was issued, Israel’s occupation had lasted a jaw-dropping 57 years and involved the insertion of 750,000 settlers into occupied territory.

But the court also went further. It determined that Israel had violated the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which prohibits racial segregation and apartheid.

It was the ultimate legal determination as to Israel’s crimes and unlawful conduct across the whole of the Occupied Territories. There is no higher judicial body to make such a determination.

Major powers are under an obligation to prevent and to punish genocide when other states are perpetrating such acts

Chris Doyle

But who refers to the occupation as unlawful? The US, of course, refuses, as it barely even acknowledges the occupation, a head-in-the-sand legal position. The UK government promised Parliament it would issue a formal response to this — a pledge repeated multiple times. But it seems that 365 days is insufficient time for the government to develop the courage to publish its response, as sources have told this author that a draft has been ready for months.

Remarkably, the UK government has stated at the UN that it does not disagree with the central findings of the advisory opinion. The awkwardness of the double negative sums up the awkwardness of the position. Ministers cannot even outline what they consider to be the central findings.

Has the media changed how it describes the Occupied Territories? Certainly not the BBC or CNN. This was barely mentioned. It is as if it is still treated as a disputed issue, as opposed to a settled matter of legal certainty.

The lack of respect for the International Court of Justice is also exhibited in the abject refusal of Israel to adhere to the provisional measures the court ordered on three occasions under the Genocide Convention between January and May 2024. Major powers have not insisted Israel do so either, even though they are under an obligation to prevent and to punish genocide when other states are perpetrating such acts. Israel should have taken all measures to prevent genocidal acts and ensure the unhindered provision of humanitarian aid, including food, water, electricity, fuel, shelter, clothing, hygiene and sanitation requirements, and medical supplies. Instead, Israel has, as a matter of declared policy, blocked this.

Many governments pay lip service to upholding international law when it comes to Israel. It is time for those who do care to expose this hypocrisy for what it is.

• Chris Doyle is director of the Council for Arab-British Understanding in London. X: @Doylech