The situation in the West Bank

Analysis: Today's verdict goes beyond Israel's worst fears

Today's verdict from the UN court in The Hague "goes beyond Israel's worst fears", writes Alon Pinkas in an analysis in Haaretz. Writings such as that the occupation of Palestinian territories has turned into an annexation, and that it must end immediately, are dangerous for Israel, he writes.

Of course, Israel can ignore, mock and attack the ruling all it wants. But many countries are listening.

"The court basically arms countries, institutions and companies with well-founded arguments not only to rebuke Israel, but also to punish it," writes Pinkas.

The Guardian's Peter Beaumont describes the verdict as "a devastating defeat for Israel". He believes that the verdict will have a major impact for years - and believes that it will be difficult for Israel to ignore it.

Both writers state that the judgment actually lacks legal significance, but has great political significance, which SR's correspondent Martin Svenningsen also emphasizes in his analysis.

In DN, Nathan Shachar describes the verdict as a "cold shower" for Israel.

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Palestinian joy after ICJ verdict: "Victory for justice"

"A victory for justice". That's what Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas' staff writes in a statement after the International Court of Justice in The Hague (ICJ) ruled that Israel's settlements on occupied land are illegal.

They call the verdict "historic" and now demand that Israel comply with the decision. The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs also demands that Israel immediately and unconditionally end its settlements.

Varsen Aghabekian Shahin, Minister of Foreign Affairs, notes that the world's most weighty legal body is now presenting a detailed analysis of the many abuses committed by Israel in the occupied territories.

- A big day for Palestine, historically and legally, she tells AFP.

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Israeli politicians rage: "ICJ is hijacked by Islamists"

High-ranking Israeli politicians condemn the verdict of the International Court of Justice in The Hague (ICJ). The ICJ rules that Israel's settlements on occupied Palestinian land violate international law, amount to annexation, and must immediately end.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responds that all settlements are fully legal.

"The Jewish people are not conquerors in their own land - not in our eternal capital Jerusalem, not in the land of our ancestors in Judea and Samaria. No false decision in The Hague changes this historical truth," he writes on X.

"Anti-Semitic", says Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir from the far-right Otzma Yehudit party. Both he and fellow minister Bezalel Smotrich believe that the answer must be a total annexation of the West Bank, according to the Times of Israel.

Even the chairman of the parliament's foreign affairs and defense committee, Yuli Edelstein, rages. The Likud politician calls the verdict "a joke".

"A despicable decision by the court in The Hague which has been hijacked by Islamists [...] and which encourages terrorism", he writes on X.