Israeli leaders slam ICJ's call for end to 'illegal' activities in Palestinian territories

Following the International Court of Justice's decision on Friday to declare settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem illegal, Israeli leaders hit back, criticizing the decision.

MK Yuli Edelstein, chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Security Committee, called the decision "another illusory and despicable decision of the court in The Hague, which was hijacked by Islamists and their supporters, and turned from a court of justice into a court of empowering and encouraging terrorism."

Edelstein then denied that Israel was an occupying state and asserted that Israel had full legal and historical rights to control all of the territory.

MK Simcha Rothman, chairman of the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, plainly responded to the publication with the statement, "Sovereignty Now."

Foreign Affairs Minister Israel Katz also took issue with the ICJ's publication, describing it as "fundamentally warped, one-sided, and wrong.

"The opinion ignores the past: the historical rights of the Jewish people in the Land of Israel. It is detached from the present: from the reality on the ground; from the security threats to Israel; from the greatest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust; from the attacks by Hamas, Iran, and other terrorist elements on seven fronts; and from the need for Israel to defend its territory and its citizens. It is also dangerous to the future: it plays into the hands of the extremists and it encourages the Palestinian Authority to continue on the path of defamation and baseless mud-slinging. 

"The State of Israel adheres to the rule of law and is committed to international law and it will continue to do all that is necessary to protect its citizens in accordance with international law."

Settler representatives hit back

Settlement Minister Mk Orit Strock listed all the things Israel has done to pull out of Gaza, where the Court considers Israel an occupier, and pointed out that the Court will always consider Israel an occupier regardless of its actions. 

Israel Gantz, head of the Binyamin Regional Council and chairman of the Yesha Council, called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to "apply sovereignty to the territories of Judea and Samaria."

He called on the world to condemn the ICJ, saying the decision was "contrary to justice, the Bible, morality, and international law."

"The Western Wall, the Cave of the Patriarchs, Jerusalem and all of Judea, Samaria, Benjamin, and the Jordan Valley are the property of our ancestors. No opinion will erase the historical truth or undermine the deep connection between the people of Israel and its country," Israel Gantz said.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said, "The decision in The Hague proves for the umpteenth time that this is a distinctly antisemitic and political organization. We will not accept their preaching; the time has come for governance and sovereignty."