The top United Nations court has ruled that Israel’s settlement policies and use of natural resources in the occupied Palestinian territories violate international law.

The international court of justice said “the transfer by Israel of settlers to the West Bank and Jerusalem as well as Israel’s maintenance of their presence, is contrary to article 49 of the fourth geneva convention”.

The panel of 15 judges from around the world also said the use of natural resources was “inconsistent” with its obligations under international law as an occupying power.

The ICJ president, Nawaf Salam, was reading out the court’s full opinion in a Friday session expected to take about an hour.

Israel has been engaged in a military assault on Gaza since the Hamas-led attacks in southern Israel in October.

In a separate case, the ICJ is considering a South African claim that Israel’s campaign in Gaza amounts to genocide, a claim vehemently denied by Israel.

Israel captured the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza Strip in 1967 six-day war. The Palestinians seek all three areas for an independent state.

Israel considers the West Bank to be disputed territory, the future of which should be decided in negotiations. It has moved people there in settlements to solidify its hold. It has annexed East Jerusalem in a move that is not recognised internationally, while it withdrew from Gaza in 2005 but maintained a blockade of the territory after Hamas took power in 2007. The international community generally considers all three areas to be occupied territory.

At hearings in February, the then Palestinian foreign minister, Riad Malki, accused Israel of apartheid and urged the ICJ to declare that Israel’s occupation of lands sought by the Palestinians is illegal and must end immediately and unconditionally for any hope of a two-state future to survive.

Israel, which normally considers the UN and international tribunals as unfair and biased, did not send a legal team to the hearings. It submitted written comments, saying that the questions put to the court were prejudiced and “fail to recognise Israel’s right and duty to protect its citizens”, address Israeli security concerns or acknowledge Israel-Palestinian agreements to negotiate issues, including “the permanent status of the territory, security arrangements, settlements, and borders”.

The Palestinians presented arguments in February along with 49 other nations and three international organisations.

The UN general assembly voted by a wide margin in December 2022 to ask the ICJ for the advisory opinion. Israel vehemently opposed the request which was promoted by the Palestinians. Fifty countries abstained from voting.

Israel has built well over 100 settlements, according to the anti-settlement monitoring group Peace Now. The West Bank settler population has grown by more than 15% in the past five years to more than 500,000 Israelis, according to a pro-settler group.

Israel also considers the entire city of East Jerusalem to be its capital. An additional 200,000 Israelis live in settlements built in East Jerusalem that Israel considers to be neighbourhoods of its capital. Palestinian residents of the city face systematic discrimination, making it difficult for them to build new homes or expand existing ones.

The international community considers all settlements to be illegal or obstacles to peace since they are built on lands sought by the Palestinians for their state.

It is not the first time the ICJ has been asked to give its legal opinion on Israeli policies. Two decades ago, the court ruled that Israel’s West Bank separation barrier was “contrary to international law.” Israel boycotted those proceedings, saying they were politically motivated.

Israel says the barrier is a security measure. Palestinians say the structure amounts to a land grab because it frequently dips into the West Bank.