Illegal Occupation, Genocide, and Business Reflections on the Case of Palestine (Part I)

Palestine

9 July 2025

In January 2024, the ICJ affirmed the plausibility of genocide in Gaza. Following the Court’s provisional measures, a series of reports from UN independent mechanisms and leading international organizations further confirmed that genocide is occurring. In July 2024, the ICJ ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestine is illegal in its entirety, finding that Israel has violated multiple peremptory norms of international law—including the prohibitions against aggression, racial discrimination, and apartheid, as well as the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination. The Court also highlighted the catastrophic consequences of economic activities that facilitate the illegal occupation, calling on states to prevent such exploitation and facilitation.

Despite the urgency and clear legal grounds for invoking state and corporate responsibility, states, corporations and global markets have been reluctant to fulfill their obligations. This disregard for international legal obligations has placed international law on a knife’s edge, according to UN Experts.

This expert panel examines the obligations and responsibilities of businesses operating within this colonial war economy, and examine the consequences of infringements. Key questions include:

What do the ICJ’s decisions mean for corporations?
What are the parameters of corporate responsibility under the business and human rights framework?
What legal risks do corporations face?
How can corporations be held accountable?

Speakers: