THE United Nations’ highest court opens historic hearings tomorrow into the legality of Israel’s 57-year occupation of Palestinian lands.

Six days of hearings are scheduled at the International Court of Justice, during which an unprecedented number of countries will participate, as Israel continues its brutal assault on Gaza.

Though the case occurs against the backdrop of the Israel-Gaza war, it focuses instead on Israel’s open-ended occupation of the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem.

Palestinian representatives, who speak today, will argue that the Israeli occupation is illegal because it has violated three key tenets of international law, the Palestinian legal team told reporters on Wednesday.

They say that Israel has violated the prohibition on territorial conquest by annexing large swaths of occupied land, has violated the Palestinians’ right to self-determination and has imposed a system of racial discrimination and apartheid.

Omar Awadallah, the head of the UN organisations department in the Palestinian Foreign Ministry, said: “We want to hear new words from the court.”

“They’ve had to consider the word genocide in the South Africa case,” he said, referring to a separate case before the court. “Now we want them to consider apartheid.”

Mr Awadallah said that an advisory opinion from the court “will give us many tools, using peaceful international law methods and tools, to confront the illegalities of the occupation.”

The court will likely take months to rule. But the decision, though not legally binding, could profoundly impact international jurisprudence, international aid to Israel and public opinion.

After the Palestinians present their arguments, 51 countries and three organisations — the League of Arab States, the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation and the African Union — will address the panel of judges.

Israel captured the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza Strip in 1967 and has built 146 settlements, according to watchdog group Peace Now, home to more than 500,000 Jewish settlers.