The Maldives has described Israel's actions against Palestinians as ethnic cleansing at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Maldives, one of the 52 countries that supported the International Court of Justice's (ICJ) appeal seeking its preliminary opinion on the legal consequences of Israel's annexation, made a statement at a hearing last night.

The Attorney General's Office said that Maldivian Ambassador to Germany Aishath Shan Shakir, who led the delegation representing the Maldives during the hearing, said that supporting the people's efforts to establish an independent, sovereign and self-sovereign state in Palestine has long been an important foundation of the Maldives' foreign policy.

The Ambassador also reiterated that declaring Palestine a sovereign state with East Jerusalem as the capital is the only sustainable solution to the conflict, in line with pre-1967 Palestinian borders.

During yesterday's hearing, international lawyers Amy Sander and Dr. Naomi Hart represented the Maldives and submitted their statements.

"Their statement representing the Maldives highlights Israel's serious violations of international law in occupied Palestinian territories, particularly its handling of water resources, and the response to two questions posed to the ICJ by the UN General Assembly. The Kingdom has aligned itself with many other countries that believe in the same way, describing the policies and practices that Israel is implementing in the occupied Palestinian lands as 'apartheids'," the statement said.

The statement reiterated that Maldives will stand firm in support of the Palestinian people's efforts, including the establishment of an independent, sovereign and sovereign state in Palestine, and to call for an immediate and permanent end to the 'genocide' in Palestine.