Israel's decades-long occupation of the Palestinian territories is illegal and needs to end "as rapidly as possible", the UN's top court said Friday.
The UN's General Assembly asked the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in late 2022 to give an "advisory opinion" on the "legal consequences arising from the policies and practices of Israel in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem".
"The court has found that Israel's continued presence in the Palestinian Territories is illegal," ICJ presiding judge Nawaf Salam said Friday, adding: "Israel must end the occupation as rapidly as possible."
"The Court has found that Israel's... continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is illegal," Salam said.
"The State of Israel is under the obligation to bring an end to its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory as rapidly as possible," the judge said.
The ICJ held a week-long session in February to hear submissions from countries following the request -- supported by most countries within the assembly.
Most speakers during the hearings called on Israel to end its 57-year occupation. They warned a prolonged occupation posed an "extreme danger" to stability in the Middle East and beyond.
But the United States said Israel should not be legally obliged to withdraw without taking its "very real security needs" into account.
Israel did not take part in the oral hearings.
Instead, it submitted a written contribution in which it described the questions the court had been asked as "prejudicial" and "tendentious".
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Featured Video Of The Day
"She Should Not Forget About India": Grand-Aunt Of Usha Vance, Wife Of Trump's Running Mate
Israel Set To Roll Out Plan To Replace Hamas Government In Gaza Israel Hits Gaza Refugee Camp After School Strike As War Enters 9th Month Spain To Join South Africa's Case Against Gaza "Genocide" In UN Top Court Over 300 Indian Students Return Home As 105 Bangladeshis Killed In Protests "Jindal Group Executive Showed Porn, Groped Me On Flight": Woman To NDTV Massive Worldwide Microsoft Outage: Flights, Markets, Stock Exchange Down Bangladesh Imposes Curfew, Deploys Military As 105 Die In Protests Tesla Halted Some Production Lines Due To Global IT Outage: Report SpiceJet Says Services Up Again After "Resolution" Of Microsoft Outage Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.