The UN’s top court ruled today that Israel’s presence in the occupied Palestinian territory is “unlawful” and called for an end to it and an immediate halt to settlement construction, delivering an unprecedented and comprehensive condemnation of Israel’s rule over territories it conquered 57 years ago.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu quickly rejected the non-binding opinion of the 15-judge panel of the International Court of Justice, saying the territories are part of the historic “homeland” of the Jewish people. But the sweeping scope of the decision could sway international opinion and prompt unilateral recognition of Palestinian statehood.

The judges pointed to a long list of policies, including the construction and expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, the exploitation of the area’s natural resources, annexation and the imposition of permanent control over land, and discriminatory policies against Palestinians, all of which the judge found violated international law.

The court said Israel had no right to sovereignty in the territories, that it was violating international law prohibiting the acquisition of territory by force and that it was obstructing the Palestinians’ right to self-determination. It said other countries had an obligation “not to provide aid or assistance in maintaining” Israel’s presence in the territories. It said Israel must immediately stop building settlements and remove existing settlements, according to a summary of the more than 80-page opinion read by the court’s president, Nawaf Salam.

Israel’s “abuse of its status as an occupying power” makes its “presence in the occupied Palestinian territory unlawful,” the court said, adding that the country’s presence must be ended “as soon as possible.”

The court’s ruling, which was sought by the UN General Assembly following a Palestinian request, came against the backdrop of Israel’s devastating military assault on Gaza, which was triggered by Hamas-led attacks in southern Israel on October 7. In a separate case, the ICJ is considering a South African claim that Israel’s campaign in Gaza amounts to genocide, a claim Israel vehemently denies.

The court said the General Assembly and the Security Council – where Israel’s staunch ally the United States has a veto – should consider “the precise modalities” for ending Israel’s presence in the territories.

Israel, which normally views the United Nations and international tribunals as unfair and biased, did not send a legal team to the hearings. Instead, it filed written submissions saying the questions put to the court were biased and did not address Israeli security concerns. Israeli officials have said the court’s intervention could undermine the peace process, which has been stalled for more than a decade.

“The Jewish people are not conquerors in their own land — not in our eternal capital Jerusalem and not in the land of our forefathers in Judea and Samaria,” Netanyahu said in a statement issued by his office, using the biblical terms for the West Bank. “No false decision in The Hague will distort this historical truth, nor can the legality of Israeli settlements in all areas of our homeland be disputed.”

Riad Malki, an adviser to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, spoke outside the court, calling the ruling “a turning point for Palestine, for justice and for international law.”

He said other countries must now comply with “the clear obligations” set out by the court. “No action of any kind … to support the illegal occupation of Israel.”

Israel captured the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip in the 1967 Middle East war. The Palestinians want an independent state in all three areas.

Israel considers the West Bank to be disputed territory, the future of which must be decided in negotiations, and has relocated populations there in settlements to tighten its grip. It annexed East Jerusalem in a move not recognized internationally, while withdrawing from Gaza in 2005 but maintaining a blockade on the area after Hamas seized power in 2007. The international community generally considers all three areas occupied.

The court’s decision goes to the heart of the ambiguity of Israel’s governance of the territories. Israel has not annexed the West Bank — despite the push by settler groups — but it calls it part of its homeland and has effectively treated it as an extension of the nation.

Along with the settlements, it has appropriated large swaths of the territory as “state lands.” At the same time, Netanyahu’s government has repeatedly rejected the creation of a Palestinian state. Abbas’s Palestinian Authority is limited to controlling divided enclaves scattered across the West Bank.

The Palestinians presented arguments at hearings in February, along with 49 other countries and three international organizations. During the hearings, Malki accused Israel of apartheid and urged the United Nations Supreme Court to declare that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian-desired lands is illegal and must end immediately and unconditionally to preserve any hope of a two-state future.

Erwin van Veen, senior researcher at think tank Clingendael in The Hague, said before the ruling that a ruling that Israel’s policies violate international law “would further isolate Israel internationally, at least from a legal point of view.”

He said such a ruling would remove “any kind of legal, political, philosophical underpinnings of the Israeli expansion project.” It could also increase the number of countries recognizing a Palestinian state, particularly in the Western world, following the recent example of Spain, Norway and Ireland, he said.