UN top court shouldn't urge Israel to immediately withdraw from Palestinian-claimed lands, US says
The United States says that the United Nations’ top court should not issue an advisory opinion that says Israel should “immediately and unconditionally withdraw” from territories sought for a Palestinian state
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The United States said Wednesday the United Nations' top court should not issue an advisory opinion that says Israel should “immediately and unconditionally withdraw” from territories sought for a Palestinian state.
Acting State Department legal adviser Richard Visek said the 15-judge panel at the International Court of Justice should not seek to resolve the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict “through an advisory opinion addressed to questions focusing on the acts of only one party.”
Visek spoke on the third day of hearings at the court into a request by the General Assembly for a non-binding advisory opinion on the legality of Israel’s policies in the occupied territories.
He said the court "can address the questions before it within the established framework based on the land for peace principle and within the parameters of established principles of occupation law.”
