26- Jan-2024
The UN’s top court has ordered Israel to take all measures to prevent genocidal acts in Gaza, but stopped short of telling it to halt the war and World reacts to ICJ ruling on South Africa’s genocide case against Israel
The highly anticipated hearing was part of a controversial case brought by South Africa.
South Africa had asked the court to order Israel to stop military action straight away pending a decision on whether Israel has committed genocide.
Israel has vehemently rejected the accusation as “wholly unfounded”.
Friday’s hearing at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague was the first time the judges have issued a ruling as part of the case which began two weeks ago. A verdict on the central allegation of genocide is expected to take much longer, possibly years.
Although the court did not call for a halt to Israel’s military action, as South Africa had asked it to do, it is being interpreted as a victory for those who support South Africa’s case.
The ICJ found it did have jurisdiction on the matter, and decided there was a plausible case under the 1948 Genocide Convention, and that the Palestinian population in Gaza was at real risk of irreparable damage.
For the implementation of the international rule of law, the [ICJ’s] decision is a momentous one,” said South Africa in a statement. It called Friday’s ruling a “significant milestone in the search for justice for the Palestinian people”.
The Palestinian foreign minister said the ruling showed that “no state is above the law”, adding it “should serve as a wake-up call for Israel and actors who enabled its entrenched impunity”.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not address the ruling directly but said “Israel’s commitment to international law is unwavering. Equally unwavering is our sacred commitment to defend our country.”
He said South Africa’s allegation that Israel was committing genocide was “not only false, it’s outrageous, and decent people everywhere should reject it”.
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant dismissed the ruling, saying Israel “does not need to be lectured on morality in order to distinguish between terrorists and the civilian population in Gaza”.
A spokesman for Hamas, the Palestinian group whose unprecedented attack on Israel on 7 October triggered the war, called the outcome “important”, saying it contributed to “isolating Israel”, Reuters news agency reported.
The ICJ ordered Israel to take a series of measures against potentially genocidal acts against Palestinians in Gaza. These include measures not only on the battlefield but also against public incitement to genocide. It also ordered Israel to take “immediate and effective measures” to enable the provision of aid to people in Gaza.
The court said Israel must report on its compliance to the court within one month.
Although orders issued by the ICJ are legally binding, it does not have the power to enforce them. Israel is not expected to commit itself to the orders.
More than 26,000 Palestinians – mostly women and children – have been killed in Gaza by Israel’s bombardment since 7 October, Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry says. Israel launched its offensive after waves of Hamas gunmen burst through the border early that day, killing about 1,300 people – mainly civilians – and taking about 250 others back to Gaza as hostages.
The court did not call for a ceasefire.
Instead, judges kept the provisional measures within what’s required by states that have signed up to the genocide convention – Israel has consistently said it is acting in accordance with international law.
And yet, its is being interpreted as a victory for those who supported South Africa’s case, insofar as the ICJ found it did have jurisdiction, and decided there was a plausible case under the genocide convention.
It also said that the Palestinian population in Gaza was at real risk of irreparable damage.
World reacts to ICJ ruling on South Africa’s genocide case against Israel
United States
The United States said the ruling of the ICJ was consistent with Washington’s view that Israel has the right to take action, in accordance with international law, to ensure the October 7 attack cannot be repeated.
“We continue to believe that allegations of genocide are unfounded and note the court did not make a finding about genocide or call for a ceasefire in its ruling and that it called for the unconditional, immediate release of all hostages being held by Hamas,” a State Department spokesperson said.
Qatar
In a statement the state of Qatar has welcomed the interim measures announced by the ICJ and said that Israel must adopt all measures to stop committing acts under the Genocide Convention in its war against Gaza
Amnesty International
Amnesty International said the ruling was important and “Israel must comply with key ICJ ruling ordering it do all in its power to prevent genocide against Palestinians in Gaza”.
“Today’s decision is an authoritative reminder of the crucial role of international law in preventing genocide and protecting all victims of atrocity crimes. It sends a clear message that the world will not stand by in silence as Israel pursues a ruthless military campaign to decimate the population of the Gaza Strip and unleash death, horror and suffering against Palestinians on an unprecedented scale,” Agnes Callamard, secretary-general of Amnesty International, said in a statement.
Human Rights Watch
Balkees Jarrah, associate international justice director at Human Rights Watch, described the ICJ’s ruling as a “landmark decision” that puts Israel and its allies on notice that immediate action is needed to prevent genocide and further atrocities” against the people of Gaza.
“Lives hang in the balance, and governments need to urgently use their leverage to ensure that the order is enforced. The scale and gravity of civilian suffering in Gaza driven by Israeli war crimes demands nothing less,” Jarrah said.
Jarrah also noted that the court’s “clear and binding orders raise the stakes for Israel’s allies to back up their stated commitment to a global rules-based order by helping ensure compliance with this watershed ruling”.
Kenneth Roth, the former executive director of Human Rights Watch, said in a post on X that it was “noteworthy” that even the Israeli judge, Aharon Barak, joined the court “on the points of preventing and punishing incitement to genocidal acts and allowing enough humanitarian aid to stop severe deprivation
European Union
“Orders of the International Court of Justice are binding on the parties and they must comply with them. The European Union expects their full, immediate and effective implementation,” the European Commission said in a statement.
壯陽藥 — /wp:paragraph –>European Parliament political parties
Lawmakers belonging to The Left party in the European Parliament called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza after the ICJ ruling. They noted that while the court has ordered Israel to “take all measures within its power” to prevent and punish acts of genocide in Gaza, complying with the order “means an unconditional, immediate and permanent ceasefire now”.
The European Parliament’s Socialists and Democrats Group pledged “full support to the role and work of the ICJ and primacy of the UN Charter and International Law”.
In a post on X, the group’s president, Iratxe Garcia Perez, also said that it is “now crucial that Israel fully complies with the interim ruling, implements without delay necessary measures regarding the Genocide Convention and the Gaza humanitarian situation and all hostages are released by Hamas
Spain
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez welcomed the ICJ decision and called on the parties to implement the interim measures the court decreed.
“We will continue to advocate for peace and an end to the war, the release of hostages, access to humanitarian aid and the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel, so that both nations can coexist in peace and security,” Sanchez said in a post on X.
Spain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation said: “Once again, Spain reiterates its call for an immediate ceasefire, the unconditional release of the hostages, immediate and regular humanitarian access and the need to move towards establishing the two-state solution.”
Ireland
Micheal Martin, the Irish minister for foreign affairs, welcomed the court’s orders, which he said were “final and binding. He added that Ireland expects Israel to implement the court’s orders “in good faith and as a matter of urgency”.
“Bringing about an end to this conflict and to the death and destruction in Gaza is a priority that must be pursued on all fronts – political, diplomatic, humanitarian and legal,” he added in a statement
Turkey
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan welcomed the ruling, saying he hoped it would halt attacks against civilians.
“We hope that Israel’s attacks against women, children and the elderly will come to an end,” Erdogan said in a social media statement, called the ICJ ruling “valuable