On Saturday, Palestine welcomed the International Court of Justice's announcement that it had received a request from the United Nations to issue an "advisory opinion" on the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories.
"The State of Palestine welcomes the transfer of the General Secretariat of the United Nations, the request of the General Assembly to the International Court of Justice, to obtain an opinion on the continuation of the Israeli occupation and the relevant international obligations." The Palestinian Foreign Ministry stated in a statement.
It said that it received "an official letter from the Registrar of the International Court of Justice, Mr. Philip Gauter, informing the State of Palestine, and other countries concerned to appear before the court, that the court's registry has officially received the referral of the decision of the United Nations General Assembly."
It added, "The procedures are proceeding as normal, and based on the legal standards of the court's work, and its rules of procedure must be followed."
The ministry stated that it is following up from the headquarters and its missions to the United Nations these technical procedures, up to inviting countries to submit written and oral pleadings.
And it continued, "The path to issuing a legal decision on the nature of the Israeli occupation has begun, and this requires concerted national, regional and international efforts to achieve justice."
