Israel-Palestine: a case of international law

Translated by Federico Emanuele

Following the appointment of Nawaf Salam as Prime Minister of Lebanon, Judge Julia Sebutinde, who defended Israel against accusations of Genocide in Gaza, is now set to assume the interim presidency of the International Court of Justice.

The ugandan judge has gained a significant attention over the past year for her strong opposition to the genocide charges brought by South Africa against Israel in the trial before the United Nations' most important court.

South Africa v. Israel

In July 2024, the outgoing president Nawaf Salam delivered the historic opinion of the International Court recognizing the illegality of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, urging Israel to reverse the annexation of the illegally occupied Palestinian territories.

The UN Court's ruling was issued with the unanimous opinion of 13 out of 15 judges: the only dissenting votes were from Julia Sebutinde and the judge appointed by Israel.

The sudden appointment of Sebutinde marks only the second time in the history of the International Court of Justice that a vice president has filled a vacancy caused by the leave of the sitting president. Salam, a Lebanese jurist, was appointed in January by the President of Lebanon, Aoun, to form a government aimed at rescuing the nation from severe economic distress.

Sebutinde, at the ICJ since 2012 and vice president since February 2024, may now face questions about her impartiality: she was one of only two judges, along with the Israeli appointee Aharon Barak, to vote against the UN Court's directive urging Israel to immediately cease its military operations in Gaza.

In a dissenting opinion, the Ugandan judge described the proceedings as a "unilateral forensic assessment of Israel's compliance with international law", arguing that the conflict between Israel and Palestine is "essentially and historically political" and therefore outside the Court's jurisdiction. These statements have caused diplomatic tensions, with Uganda's ambassador to the UN clarifying:

“The statement by Judge Sebutinde at the International Court of Justice does not represent the position of the Ugandan government on the situation in Palestine”.

What consequences might the presidency of a "pro-Israel" judge at the International Court of Justice now have on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the genocide charges against Israel?

The Israel-Usa alliance
On Tuesday, February 4, Netanyahu flew to Washington, becoming the first international leader to meet Donald Trump at the White House after his inauguration. The meeting in the United States – one of the few countries where he does not risk arrest under an International Criminal Court warrant – serves the Israeli Prime Minister to demonstrate the strong bond between America and Israel; but above all, it is an opportunity to show the world the almost unconditional support of the American administration – first Biden's, now Trump's – towards the historic Israeli ally.

On the agenda for Trump and Netanyahu is also the discussion of phase two of the truce agreement, which came into effect on January 19, within the Gaza Strip. This phase is expected to begin in early March and would include:

- the release of the remaining Israeli hostages who have been held by Hamas since October 7, 2023;

- the complete withdrawal of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) from the Palestinian enclave.

Thus, a potential permanent ceasefire in Gaza.

All this, however, is happening while "Iron Wall", the Israeli military operation that began on January 21 in the occupied West Bank, continues: heavy bombings in Jenin, a stronghold of Palestinian resistance, have caused destruction, deaths, and injuries.

While the fragile ceasefire continues in Gaza, the historic alliance between the United States and Israel is strengthening, with Trump and Netanyahu "together to reshape the Middle East".

Not without conflicts, though. Trump, who played a decisive role in achieving the current ceasefire even before his inauguration, will press Netanyahu to expand the "Abraham Accords" and initiate the normalization of relations with Saudi Arabia, whose negotiations were suspended following the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023. But for Riyadh this can only happen with the creation of a Palestinian state, which Israel is currently unwilling to grant. And the insistence of the new American president to relocate Gaza's civilians to Egypt and Jordan during the reconstruction of the Strip could hinder negotiations, becoming another card in the hands of Hamas.

In reaching an agreement to satisfy their mutual interests in the region, the essence of the "Palestinian question" always remains on the sidelines for the United States and Israel: the future of the Gaza Strip and the occupied Palestinian territories, namely the right of the Palestinian population of Gaza and the West Bank to exist on their own land.


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