Ireland has told the UN's top court that states are obliged to co-operate to bring an end to "Israel's serious breach" of its duty to respect the rights of Palestinian people.

Irish Attorney General Rossa Fanning condemned the October 7th attacks by Hamas however he noted that 'international law limits the use of force in self-defence to no more than what is necessary and proportionate".

In his opening address to the ICJ's 'Advisory Opinion Hearings on Israeli Practices and Policies in the Occupied Palestinian Territory' , Mr Fanning said that "Ireland's view was that Israel had exceeded these limits".

The Attorney General said that Israel had violated the "basic rules of international humanitarian law", which included the right to self-determination of the Palestinian people and the prohibition of acquisition of territory by force.

Mr Fanning also noted that states are obliged not to render aid or assistance in maintaining this situation.

These proceedings follow a December 2022 resolution of the UN General Assembly, meaning they predate the 7 October massacre in Israel and the ensuing hostilities in Gaza.

The assembly has asked the UN's top court to examine the legal consequences of the "ongoing violation by Israel of the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination" due to its prolonged occupation and settlement of Palestinian territories.

The case is entirely separate from the one brought before the same court by South Africa, which alleges Israel is responsible for violations of the Genocide Convention as a result of its military campaign in Gaza.

In spite of this, the case touches on the ongoing bombing of Gaza and violence that has occurred since October 7th.

Nevertheless, the hearing has taken on increased significance in the wake of the current conflict and is likely to assert more political pressure on Israel.

Speaking at the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Mr Fanning told the tribunal that "Israel’s military occupation began in 1967 and has continued now, uninterrupted, for 57 years".

Fanning continued to say that: "It has also entailed, as I have said, extensive and continuous, permanent and deliberate settlement building. Neither the duration of the occupation nor the scale and extent of settlement activity is, in Ireland’s view, justified."

Ireland is one of over 50 countries to make submissions in the case concerning Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory, which will be heard by a pale of 15 judges.

The 15-judge panel of the ICJ is expected to take several months to reach its conclusions. Rather than a formal judgement, the General Assembly requested a non-binding advisory opinion from the court.

The list of 50 plus countries which includes the USA and South Africa, has one notable omission; Israel, who has rejected the validity of the case and warned in a written submission that interventions by the court could harm the possibility of reaching a two-state settlement.