As violence flares once again in the Middle East, the United Nations General Assembly has asked the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for an “advisory opinion” on the legality of Israel’s occupation of Palestine. Could an opinion from the world’s top court help unblock a decades-old conflict when other efforts have failed? “Clearly there is very little accountability of the authorities in Israel,” says South African jurist Navanethem Pillay, chair of a UN commission that recommended the request. “There are many well-researched reports on its violations of international law, so the question is why they’ve been able to get away with it for 70 years, slowly squeezing the Palestinians and their right to self-determination.” Indeed, there have been many legal opinions over the years saying the Israeli occupation of Palestine is illegal. So why might an ICJ opinion make a difference? Pillay points out that it is the UN’s top court, set up by member states. “They said if there's a...
