Gaza live: Dozens killed and wounded in Israeli strikes on Gaza and Yemen

The far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and the far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir have lashed out the ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), labelling it "antisemitic" and calling for immediate annexation of the occupied West Bank.

Smotrich took to X saying: "The answer to The Hague: Sovereignty now," referring to Israeli annexation of the West Bank.

Sports apparel brand Adidas has been caught in a storm after announcing it would "revise" its latest shoe campaign with supermodel Bella Hadid after backlash from pro-Israeli groups, with users describing the move as racist.

The sportswear company apologised for the "upset and distress" it caused for choosing the Palestinian-American model as the face of the SL72s, trainers first designed for the 1972 Olympic games in Munich during which 11 Israeli athletes and a German policeman were killed in an attack by a Palestinian militant group.

After the relaunch of the shoe last week, the Israeli government account on X, as well as pro-Israeli groups, slammed Adidas for hiring Hadid as ambassador for the campaign, connecting the shoe to the deaths of Israelis during the games.

Following the outrage, the sporting company apologised for the “unintentional” link and said it would "revise" the remainder of the campaign.

Read more: Anger as Adidas 'revises' retro trainer campaign featuring Bella Hadid

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid has lashed out at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), saying it is “detached, one-sided, tainted with anti-Semitism and a lack of understanding of the reality on the ground”.

“It only serves Islamic terrorism and the campaign against Israel,” Lapid said on X.

Lapid blamed Netanyahu’s government, saying the international court’s ruling was “another political failure of a dysfunctional government”.

The Palestinian presidency has called the ICJ opinion a “triumph for justice, affirming that the Israeli occupation is illegal”.

“The presidency viewed the ICJ decision as a reaffirmation of the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination, their land, and their statehood,” it said in a post on X. 

“The presidency emphasised that amidst the ongoing Israeli aggression and genocide against our people in Gaza and the West Bank, including Jerusalem, the ICJ ruling renews hope among our people for a future free from colonisation, on the path to achieving their absolute and non-negotiable right to self-determination and liberation”.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday that a ceasefire in Gaza between Israel was within sight, according to Reuters. He mentioned that negotiators were "driving toward the goal line".

"There are still some issues that need to be resolved and negotiated. We're in the midst of doing exactly that," Blinken said at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado

Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations, expressed his gratitude in response to the International Court of Justice's (ICJ) ruling, describing it as an additional tool to aid in the resistance against Israel's illegal occupation.

"Our people seek an end to this occupation," he stated from The Hague. "Today's development marks a significant step towards ending the occupation and securing the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, including self-determination, statehood, and the right of refugees to return."

Mansour mentioned that Palestinian officials would meticulously analyze the ruling, formulate a plan, and eventually craft a resolution for the General Assembly that aligns with this historic ICJ decision.

Fifty-seven years have passed since Israeli forces swept through East Jerusalem and the West Bank during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, known in Israel as the Six Days War.

Ever since these areas have remained under Israeli military occupation. A brutal occupation to be sure.

But it was a legal occupation, according to the letter of international law, which sets out duties and responsibilities that an occupying power must uphold in territory under its control during armed conflict.

Certainly, many of the actions carried out by the Israeli government, above all the transfer of 700,000 settlers into occupied territory, are widely regarded to have been in direct defiance of international law.

Friday’s momentous advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, the UN’s top court, changes that.

The court has found that the entire occupation is unlawful and that Israel's settlement policy is in breach of the Geneva Convention, which states that "the Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies".

It has found, too, that Israel's policies and practices in the occupied Palestinian territories amount to annexation of large parts of these territories, and that Israel systematically discriminates against the Palestinians who live there.

You can read Middle East Eye columnist Peter Oborne and MEE Palestine bureau chief Lubna Masarwa's full analysis below. 

Read more: ICJ opinion on Israel's occupation upends the order that oppresses Palestinians

The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has responded to the ICJ's advisory opinion on Friday.

The ICJ found Israel's decades-long occupation of the Palestinian territories to be "unlawful", and said it should be brought to an end "as rapidly as possible."

A UK foreign office spokesperson said: "We have received the Advisory Opinion issued by the International Court of Justice on Friday 19 July and are considering it carefully before responding. The UK respects the independence of the ICJ.

"The Foreign Secretary was clear on his visit to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories earlier this week that the UK is strongly opposed to the expansion of illegal settlements and rising settler violence.

"This government is committed to a negotiated two-State solution which can deliver a safe and secure Israel alongside a viable and sovereign Palestinian state."

In response to the ICJ's historic advisory opinion on Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the Jewish people cannot be considered occupiers in what he described as their historic homeland.

"No false decision in The Hague will distort this historical truth, just as the legality of Israeli settlement in all the territories of our homeland cannot be contested," Netanyahu said.

The World Court found Israel's decades-long occupation of the Palestinian territories to be "unlawful", and said it should be brought to an end "as rapidly as possible."

Israel's foreign ministry said it "rejected" the ICJ's opinion, describing it as politically biased and "completely detached" from reality. The statement condemned the ruling for "ignoring" Hamas' attack on southern Israel on 7 October.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has issued an advisory opinion on Friday finding Israel's decades-long occupation of the Palestinian territories to be "unlawful", and should be brought to an end "as rapidly as possible."

Delivering the court's findings, ICJ President Nawaf Salam said that Israel must make reparations to Palestinians for damages caused by its occupation, adding that the UN Security Council, the General Assembly and all states have an obligation to not recognise Israel's occupation as legal.

“The sustained abuse of Israel of its position as an occupying power through annexation and an assertion of permanent control over the occupied Palestinian territory and continued frustration of the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination violates fundamental principles of international law and renders Israel’s presence in the occupied Palestinian territory unlawful," he said.

The decision follows a request in December 2022 by the United Nations General Assembly for the court to give its view on Israel's policies and practices towards the Palestinians and on the legal status of the 57-year-long occupation of Palestinian lands.

Among other comments, he said that the "transfer by Israel of settlers" to the occupied territories was contrary to the Geneva Convention, adding that Israel's occupation of natural resources is "inconsistent with Palestinians right to sovereignty over natural resources."

Read more: Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands is 'unlawful' and amounts to 'de-facto annexation', says ICJ

In its advisory opinion on Friday, the ICJ said Israel had an obligation to end its presence in occupied Palestinian territories as rapidly as possible. 

It also called on Israel to cease all new illegal settlement activity, and said that Israel must make reparations for damages caused by its occupation of Palestinian territories. 

It said that all states had an obligation not to recognise Israel's occupation, and to distinguish between Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. 

 The ICJ said on Friday that Israel's policies and practices in the occupied Palestinian territories amounted to annexation of large parts of these territories.

The statement came in a non-binding advisory opinion being read out in the court by a judge.

The court also found that Israel systematically discriminated against Palestinians in the occupied territories, adding that Israeli practices and policies violated Palestinians' right to self determination. 

The International Court of Justice has said that Israel's illegal settlement policies and exploitation of natural resources in the occupied Palestinian territories are in breach of international law.

The comments came during the ICJ's advisory opinion on Friday regarding the legal consequences of Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories since 1967.

While the opinion will not be binding, it could increase diplomatic pressure on Israel.

Philippe Lazzarini, the commissioner-general of the UN refugee agency for Palestinians (Unrwa), has welcomed the UK's decision to restore funding to the agency.

"The resumption of funding is testament to the lifesaving & human development work of our teams across the region including on the humanitarian front lines in #Gaza," he wrote on X.

"The UK has been a committed & long-standing partner to UNRWA over the decades. This announcement comes at a critical time as the Agency continues to come under harsh & unprecedented attacks.

In London today, I reiterated that @UNRWA is fully committed, with the support of donors & host countries, to implement the recommendations of the Colonna report. This will further reinforce the principle of neutrality in a deeply polarized environment."

His comments came hours after UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy's announcement to parliament on Friday. 

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has said it can deliver its advisory opinion on the legal consequences of Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories, rejecting calls by Israel to refuse to give one.