The World Court ordered Israel on Friday to stop its acts of genocide against Palestinians and do more to help civilians, although it stopped short of ordering a ceasefire as demanded by South African plaintiffs.
While the ruling negates Palestinian hopes for a binding order to stop the war in Gaza, it represents a legal setback for Israel, which hopes to throw out cases brought under the genocide convention established in the ashes of the Second World War’s Holocaust targeting. European Jews.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) found there was a case to be heard on whether Palestinian rights were denied in a war it said caused severe humanitarian casualties.
It also called on Palestinian armed groups to release hostages captured in the October 7 attack on Israel that sparked the conflict.
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry said the decision was a welcome reminder that “no country is above the law.”
Gilad Noam (L), Israel’s Deputy Attorney General for International Affairs and lawyer Malcolm Shaw before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) deliver an order on the South African genocide case against Israel on January 26, 2024. Getty Images
Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters it would contribute to “isolate the occupation and expose its crimes in Gaza.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the ICJ’s decision not to order a ceasefire, but dismissed the genocide allegations as “exaggeration” and said Israel would continue to defend itself.
REPORT BACK IN A MONTH
Israel sought to have the case overturned when South Africa took it to the ICJ, also known as the World Court, this month under the legal principle that genocide is a grave crime that all countries are bound to prevent.
People grieve as they wait to collect the bodies of friends and relatives killed in an airstrike on January 18, 2024, in Rafah, Gaza. Getty Images
Pretoria accused Israel of state-led genocide in its attack, which began after Hamas terrorists stormed into Israel killing 1,200 and kidnapping more than 240.
It asked the court to grant emergency measures to stop the fighting, which Palestinian officials say has killed more than 26,000 Palestinians and displaced the majority of the population in an intensive bombing campaign that has lasted more than three months.
ICJ judges ordered Israel to take all measures within its power to prevent its forces from committing genocide, punish inciting acts, take steps to improve the humanitarian situation and report back on its progress within a month.
People inspect the destruction of the Omar bin Abdul Aziz Mosque and the houses next to it due to an Israeli airstrike on January 25, 2024. Getty Images
It does not decide the merits of the genocide charge, which could take years. Although the decision is not appealable, the court has no mechanism to enforce its decision.
In reading the verdict, ICJ President Judge Joan Donoghue described the plight of the Palestinians in Gaza, citing the dangers to children and quoting detailed descriptions of the humanitarian emergency from UN officials.
This, he said, justified the court’s decision to take emergency action to avoid irreparable harm. He also recited calls from Israeli officials for a tough campaign, which he said justified a court order for Israel to punish those guilty of sedition.
An Israeli tank moves along the border with the Gaza Strip on January 21, 2024 in Southern Israel, Israel. Getty Images
Israel described South Africa’s claims as false and “grossly distorted.” It said it had acted in self-defense against an enemy that attacked first and had gone to great lengths to protect civilians, blaming Hamas for operating among them, which the fighters denied.
South Africa called the court order a “decisive victory” for the international rule of law and both it and the European Union said Israel must implement it immediately and fully.
The United States stated that the decision did not make a finding of genocide and said it was in line with the US view that Israel has the right to take action in accordance with international law to prevent any repeat of the October 7 attack.
An explosion occurred during an Israeli airstrike in Gaza, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, as seen from southern Israel, January 17, 2024. REUTERS
ATTACK ON KHAN YOUNIS
On the ground in Gaza, the heaviest fighting in weeks is now taking place in an area crowded with hundreds of thousands of people fleeing previous fighting elsewhere.
Palestinians sheltering in southern Gaza said they were disappointed by the lack of a ceasefire order from the court, but also hoped the ruling would bring accountability.
“What happened was a victory,” said Mustafa Ibrahim, a human rights activist.
Palestinians fleeing Khan Younis, due to Israeli ground operations, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, move towards Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, January 25, 2024. REUTERS
In Israel, Jonathan Dekel-Chen, whose son is being held hostage in Gaza, said he was encouraged by the ICJ’s call for the release of the prisoners, which he said reflected the neglected point that Hamas attacks had sparked the war.
The terrorists released a video on Friday showing three female hostages calling for an end to the conflict. Israel has said such videos amount to psychological abuse.
Talks on a possible temporary pause in the fighting to free hostages and Palestinians held in Israel and allow more aid to Gaza are gaining momentum.
An Israeli tank operates in Khan Younis during an Israeli ground operation in the southern Gaza Strip, January 25, 2024. REUTERS
US President Joe Biden discussed the issue on Friday in a phone call with Qatar’s mediating emir and the White House said Washington was hopeful of progress.
Sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters US Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns and his Israeli counterpart are expected to meet Qatar’s prime minister and Egypt’s intelligence chief in Europe on Sunday for talks on a potential second Gaza hostage deal.
US and Israeli intelligence chiefs previously met with Qatari and Egyptian officials to help coordinate a short-lived ceasefire in November that saw the release of more than 100 hostages.
Smoke billows during an Israeli ground operation in Khan Younis as seen from a tent camp sheltering displaced Palestinians in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip January 25, 2024. REUTERS
The Biden administration has tried to facilitate the release of the more than 100 remaining hostages.
Israel continued its bombardment of the main southern city of Khan Younis on Friday, reporting “intensive fighting” and attacks on Hamas fighters and infrastructure from the air and on the ground.
It said it had found about 200 tunnel shafts and destroyed more than 130 militant infrastructure sites in its latest operation.
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Residents said Israeli forces blew up buildings and houses in the western part of the city during the gun battle.
Palestinians say Israel has blocked efforts to rescue the dead and wounded and blockaded hospitals, which Israel denies, blaming Hamas terrorists for operating near them.
Hezbollah announced that four of its fighters were killed in an Israeli strike in southern Lebanon late Friday. The group has exchanged fire with Israel since it fired rockets across Lebanon’s southern border on October 8 in support of its ally Hamas.
It said on Friday that it had fired rockets at Israeli military targets nine times during the day, including Burkan (Volcano), which carried hundreds of kilograms of explosives.
In a new setback for the stricken Palestinians, the United States said it was temporarily suspending funding to the UN aid agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) after Israel alleged that 12 UNRWA workers were involved in the Oct. 7 attack.
UNRWA said it was investigating immediately and that “any UNRWA employee involved in acts of terrorism” would be held accountable.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
