 The United Nations General Assembly first requested early last year that the court, based in the Dutch capital city of The Hague, examine the legal circumstances of Israel's occupation, as well as Israeli practices and policies directed towards the Palestinian people. The opinion issued by the court is neither legally binding nor easily enforceable, but despite its largely advisory nature, it still carries powerful political weight as the first instance in which the ICJ has drawn definitive conclusions about an occupation that is now well into its sixth decade. For NPR News, I'm Dylan Marks.