ISTANBUL 

Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu on Friday welcomed the advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Israel's occupation of Palestine.

Muizzu on X said the ICJ advisory opinion “attests the aspirations of the Palestinian people embedded in their rightful pursuit of statehood and self-determination."

The ICJ opinion, in response to a 2022 request by the UN General Assembly, said Israel's occupation of East Jerusalem and the West Bank is "unlawful" and should be brought to an end "as rapidly as possible."

It said Israel should cease new settlement activities, and “evacuate all settlers from the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

Calling on Israel to bring an immediate end to its unlawful settlement policies, Muizzu asked Tel Aviv to “make reparations to the damage incurred as a result of its exploitative and discriminative actions” against Palestinians.

“With this decree, the Maldives sets renewed hope for a sovereign and independent State of Palestine, in line with the pre-1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital,” the president said.