On the 16th of March 2001, the International Court of Justice witnessed the end of its longest running case. The case involved the territorial and maritime dispute of Bahrain and Qatar. It also came to be the only territorial dispute between two Arab countries that was successfully resolved by the ICJ. Understanding this dispute and how it reached the ICJ helps give context to the complex relationship between Bahrain and Qatar. This paper will explore how this dispute was not merely about two countries but finds its history intertwined with colonial interests, politics of oil and the goals of regional powers and international powers. The case dealt with the dispute over Hawar Islands, the fashts (shoals) of al-Jaradah and al-Dibal, territorial waters of the Persian Guld and the district of Zubara. (Qatar v. Bahrain). This paper however, will mainly focus on the question of Hawar islands and Zubara.