The World Court did not impose a ceasefire on Friday; instead, it directed Israel to make sure that its military does not engage in any acts that could be considered genocide while battling Hamas in Gaza.
The International Court of Justice, as the court is officially called, also mandated that Israel provide the Palestinians in Gaza with “urgently-needed basic services and humanitarian assistance” right away.
The court further mandated that Israel punish and stop incitement to genocide, citing provocative statements made by some Israeli officials.
The Hague-based court is powerless to enforce its rulings, therefore nations are free to disobey them.
In addition, it denied South Africa’s plea for an injunction to suspend hostilities while it investigated the possibility of genocide.
The court’s President, Joan Donoghue, spoke extensively in her interim ruling on the miseries of the Gaza population and the long-term consequences of Israeli actions.
The statement read, “The court is deeply concerned about the ongoing loss of life and human suffering and is acutely aware of the extent of the human tragedy that is unfolding in the region.”
The court stated that “in the court’s view, at least some of the acts and omissions alleged by South Africa have been committed by Israel in Gaza appear to be capable of falling within the provisions of the [genocide] convention,” but it reserved judgment on the central question of whether or not Israel had committed genocide.
With vivid memories of apartheid and the oppression of the majority by the White minority rulers, South Africa championed the cause of the Palestinians and took Israel to court.
South Africa claimed that Israel was committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza by using the international convention on avoiding genocide. On October 7, Israel launched a response in Gaza after Hamas had assaulted it, killing over 1,200 people and kidnapping roughly 240 more.
Approximately 25,000 people have died as a result of Israel’s response, many of them were women and children, and over 85% of Gaza’s 2 million residents have been forced to flee their homes.
Both attacks were mentioned in the ruling.
Except from choosing the judges, none of the UN’s bodies—such as the Security Council or the General Assembly—have any influence on how the court operates.
The UN Secretary General is not involved in it either.
Even if the court’s decisions are legally binding, nations are free to ignore them and there will be no repercussions for doing so.
Two ad hoc judges, each selected by South Africa and Israel in accordance with its processes, joined the court’s fifteen judges.
Six orders were issued by the court, two of which dealt with procedural issues and four of which dealt with stopping potential acts of genocide.
Judge Ahron Barak of Israel and Judge Julia Sebitunde of India dissented from several of the court’s orders, while fifteen judges, including Dalveer Bhandari of India, concurred with all of them.
There were no official dissents from the two judges.
The Israeli counterattacks, according to South Africa, “are genocidal in character because they are intended to bring about the destruction of a substantial part of the Palestinian national, racial and ethnic group,” citing the deaths of roughly 25,000 people, the majority of whom were women and children.
In response to South Africa’s accusations, Israel said that it was entitled to self-defense and that it had taken precautions to keep civilians safe, including informing them ahead of time of bombings so they could evacuate the area and even aborting certain operations when civilians were in danger.
Given that Jews were the victims of Nazi crimes in Europe and sought safety in Israel, Israeli leaders have responded angrily to any insinuation of genocide.
