« The current settler colonial conjuncture: Shannon Speed, ‘Hearing Her Breathing: Indigenous Knowledges and the World Beyond Settler Capitalism’, WSQ: Women’s Studies Quarterly, 54, 3-4, 2026, pp. 351-355

Good question: Alessandra Spadaro, ‘International Law and Racial Capitalism in Palestine: Occupation Gone Wrong or Settler Colonialism Done Right?’ Third World Approaches to International Law, 7, 2026

02Nov26

Abstract: In its 2024 Advisory Opinion, the International Court of Justice found that Israel’s ongoing presence as an occupying power in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) is unlawful. The Court scrutinized the existence of illegal Israeli settlements in the OPT and found, among other things, that Israel prioritizes its settlers in the allocation of water and allows them to exploit natural resources whilst denying the same opportunities to Palestinians, in violations of its obligations under international law. The Court also found that Israel discriminates against Palestinians, including on the basis of race, without however reaching a clear conclusion on the question of apartheid. Focusing on these two issues, this article offers a critique of the Advisory Opinion through the concepts of settler colonialism and racial capitalism. It demonstrates that the economy of occupation is not limited to the exploitation of natural resources, nor to the OPT. It is rather part of a broader settler colonial project aimed at facilitating capital accumulation through the elimination of the Palestinian people. The article employs the concept of racial capitalism to show the entanglement of profit-making and race-making that results in the racialization of Palestinians as inferior. Beyond Palestine, this analysis highlights challenges and opportunities for political-economic analyses of international law.


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