Türkiye on Monday called on the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to declare the policies and practices of Israel in occupied Palestine "illegal" under international law.
On the final day of public hearings in a case examining the legal consequences of Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories, Deputy Foreign Minister Ahmet Yıldız also addressed the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas in Israel, which killed 1,200 people, and Israel's military response that has since killed over 29,000 Palestinians.
Israeli bombardment has also injured over 70,000, devastated 60% of the enclave's infrastructure and caused a worsening humanitarian crisis. It has pushed 85% of the territory's population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine.
"The unfolding situation after Oct. 7 proves once again that, without addressing the root cause of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, there can be no peace in the region," Yıldız said on the sixth day of hearings.
"The real obstacle to peace is obvious. The deepening occupation by Israel of the Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem and failure to implement the two-state vision," he added.
"The rule-based international system has come to the brink of collapse with ongoing Israeli attacks on Gaza," Yıldız argued, slamming a "lack of political will" by the international community, which he said only "increased the injustice felt by Palestinians."
Israel's acts have turned into collective punishment, Yıldız said, pointing to the ever-increasing death toll in Israeli bombardments, as well as illegal settler terrorism against native Palestinians in the West Bank.
Tensions have been running high across the West Bank since Oct. 7, with at least 400 Palestinians killed and more than 7,200 others detained by Israeli forces.
Yıldız also expressed alarm over reports that the Israeli government plans to limit prayers of Muslims at Haram al-Sharif during Ramadan, as well as "worrisome provocative rhetoric" by certain Israeli ministers.
Israeli forces and settlers often storm holy sites in East Jerusalem, like Al-Aqsa Mosque, the world's third-holiest site for Muslims, including during the holy month of Ramadan.
Palestinians, who already have restricted access to the compound, accuse Israel of systematically working to Judaize East Jerusalem and obliterate its Arab and Islamic identity. Israel occupied East Jerusalem during the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. It annexed the entire city in 1980, a move never recognized by the international community.
Known for its unbreakable solidarity with Palestinians, Türkiye has voiced support for the Palestinian cause in the international realm for decades.
Similarly, on Monday, Yıldız said Türkiye is "deeply concerned" with the unilateral policies and practices of Israel, which "violates the status quo in Haram al-Sharif."
Al-Aqsa Mosque is also known as Haram al-Sharif or Temple Mount.
"Türkiye believes all unilateral acts by Israel aiming at occupation constitute a breach of international law and must be unconditionally rescinded," Yıldız stressed.
"Türkiye cannot remain indifferent to attempts to erase Palestinian identity under Israeli occupation," he added. "Israel must be held accountable for measures to alter the status of Jerusalem, as well as violations of human rights on occupied territories."
Since Feb. 19, the U.N.'s top court, also known as the World Court, has been hearing arguments by 52 countries on the legal consequences of Israel's occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip after a request by the U.N. General Assembly in 2022 to issue a nonbinding opinion on the legal consequences of Israeli occupation from 1967 to present day.
The case is separate from another ICJ case by South Africa accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.
In addition to Türkiye, Zambia, the Arab League, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the African Union, as well as Spain, Fiji and the Maldives delivered their statements to the World Court on Monday.
The Arab League's secretary-general, Ahmed Aboul Gheith, described the occupation as "an affront to international justice" in a statement read out by a representative.
It called upon the ICJ to "confirm the illegality of this occupation and unambiguously rule on the legal consequences for all parties, especially those who turn a blind eye, facilitate, assist or participate in any way in perpetuating this illegal situation."
The hearings are part of a Palestinian push to get international legal institutions to examine Israel's conduct in the occupied territories.
Israel, which is not taking part in the hearings, said in written comments that the court's involvement could be harmful to achieving a negotiated settlement.
Last week, Palestinian representatives asked the judges to declare Israel's occupation of their territory illegal and said its opinion could help reach a two-state solution.
The judges are expected to take roughly six months to issue an opinion on the request.
