00:00 The United Nations top court has opened historic hearings on Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories.
00:07 The International Court of Justice in The Hague will hear from 52 countries and three organisations over the next week.
00:14 The ICJ is made up of 15 judges elected to nine-year terms.
00:19 The court aims to settle legal disputes between countries and give advice on legal issues.
00:24 Only the UN's 193 member states can submit cases to the court as the ICJ does not deal with applications from individuals or organisations.
00:34 The court can consider two types of cases.
00:37 The first, legal disputes between states known as contentious cases.
00:41 Second, are requests for advisory opinions on legal questions called advisory proceedings.
00:48 Late last year, the ICJ considered South Africa's genocide case against Israel over the conflict in Gaza.
00:55 And in 2020, the court dealt with Gambia's case against Myanmar for the treatment of the country's Rohingya population.
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