The International Court of Justice (ICJ) called on Israeli officials: Take “all possible measures” to protect Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and “urgently” ensuring that South Africa receives the necessary assistance under a set of interim measures agreed following the complaint it submitted to the court.
Justice Joan E. Donoghue stated in a public reading that the ICJ has jurisdiction over the case, confirming that South Africa could sue Israel for allegedly violating the Genocide Convention and the case could move forward. Donoghue emphasized that there was a “human tragedy” in Gaza and confirmed that the ICJ had taken action in this regard. ‘We are deeply concerned’ about the high number of deaths.
He even disclosed some figures given by local authorities, despite the lack of “independent verification”, and statements by UN agencies describing the “devastation” that the Strip has been experiencing for more than a hundred days. . . “The situation for children in Gaza is particularly dire” he complained.
Among the points the judges confirmed in this initial analysis were that some accusations against Israel fall within the scope of the Genocide Convention and that Palestinians as a group are entitled to protection under that convention.
The injunctions also stipulate that Israel must notify the court within a month of the steps it has taken to comply with this Friday’s mandatory orders.
Claims of the parties
South Africa presented its case against Israel at the end of December on the grounds that a “genocide” could be committed in the Gaza Strip, where more than 26,000 people have already died, according to data released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Gaza this Friday. Health. .
While waiting for the Hague-based court to rule on the merits of the matter in the future, Pretoria requested the implementation of interim measures and the judges agreed this Friday that the already “catastrophic” situation in Gaza could worsen before the final decision.
South African lawyers, who have the support of more than 50 countries, discussed not only the death toll and the weapons used in the preliminary hearings, but also what Israeli political leaders described as “genocide rhetoric.” for example, calling Palestinians “human animals.” They equally condemned the destruction of civilian infrastructure and the forcible transfer of the population.
But for Israel, this is an “unfounded” complaint and a thesis it shares with its main international ally, the United States. In this sense, the Israeli defense accused South Africa of presenting a “deeply distorted” version of reality, justifying in both content and form the attack that the Government of Benjamin Netanyahu considered necessary to eliminate an “existential threat”.
Lawyers representing Israel argued that the war was “not against the Palestinian people” but against Hamas, which controls Gaza. In fact, although they held Hamas responsible, they argued that harming civilians was normal in every conflict and that there could be “undesirable” consequences.
Tal Becker, legal advisor to the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, summarized the following during his presentation: “Under the pretext of accusations of genocide against Israel, this court is asked to put an end to the incessant attacks of an organization that pursues a truly genocidal agenda.” . .
Performance
The ICJ is part of the UN structure and therefore its decisions are legally binding on all member states of the organization. But they don’t have their own tools to implement them; This led, for example, to Russia not complying with the court’s decision to halt the attack on Ukraine, weeks after the attack began in February 2022.
Unlike what happens at the International Criminal Court (ICC), this court does not try people individually, but instead resolves disputes between States, such as in South Africa’s case against Israel, which it decided this Friday. The case is still in its early stages and it could take years before a final sentence is reached, with no appeal possible.