Israel and its allies moved heaven and Earth to prevent it from happening. This past week in The Hague, it did.

On Monday, February 19, in response to a late December request from the UN General Assembly for its authoritative legal opinion — a request Israel, the US and fifteen other states voted against — the UN’s supreme judicial body, the International Court of Justice, convened oral hearings on the status of Israel’s 57-year belligerent occupation of the Palestinian territories, under international law, and on the legal ‘consequences’ arising from Israel’s extraordinarily well documented, though unadjudicated crimes.

In other words, what Israel must do to set things right, and what the international community must do to ensure it does. ICJ hearings wrap up on the afternoon of Monday, February 26.

Here are a few voices from the proceedings:

Riyad Mansour is Palestine’s Ambassador to the United Nations. An emotional pleading to the court.

Some of the tiniest state delivered the most powerful presentations at the ICJ this past week. Little Belize topped the list. Assad Shoman, is special envoy of the Belizean Prime Minister, on sovereignty issues.

Philippa Webb is another member of Belize’s delegation. She’s a professor of international public law at King’s College London, and member of the bars of Belize, New York State, England and Wales.

And, one of the session’s most cogent presentations, from Ireland. Rossa Fanning is Ireland’s Attorney General.

Listen to these voices in today’s podcast. Click on the play button above, or go here.