The World Court on Friday ordered Israel to prevent acts of genocide against Palestinians and do more to help civilians, although it stopped short of ordering a ceasefire as requested by plaintiff South Africa.
While the ruling denied Palestinian hopes for a binding order to stop the war in Gaza, it represented a legal setback for Israel, which had hoped to dismiss a case brought under the genocide convention established from the ashes of the World War II Holocaust. and which targeted European Jews.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that there was a pending case over whether Palestinians were being denied rights in a war that it said was causing serious humanitarian harm.
He also called on Palestinian armed groups to release hostages captured in the October 7 attacks on Israel that precipitated the conflict.
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry said the decision was a welcome reminder that “no state 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) delivers an order on South Africa’s genocide case against Israel on January 26, 2024. Getty Images
A senior Hamas official, Sami Abu Zuhri, told Reuters it would help “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 rejected the genocide charge as “outrageous” and said Israel would continue to defend itself.
REPORT IN ONE MONTH
Israel had sought to have the case dismissed when South Africa took it to the ICJ, also known as the World Court, this month under the legal principle that genocide is a crime so serious that all countries have a duty to prevent it.
People cry as they wait to collect the bodies of friends and family killed in an airstrike on January 18, 2024 in Rafah, Gaza. fake images
Pretoria accused Israel of state-led genocide in its offensive, which began after Hamas terrorists stormed 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 most of the population in an intensive bombing campaign lasting more than three months.
ICJ judges ordered Israel to take all measures within its power to prevent its troops from committing genocide, punish acts of incitement, take steps to improve the humanitarian situation, and report on its progress within a month.
Citizens inspect the effects of the destruction of the Omar bin Abdul Aziz Mosque and adjacent houses due to Israeli airstrikes on January 25, 2024. Getty Images
He did not decide on the merits of the genocide accusations, which could take years. Although the ruling cannot be appealed, the court has no mechanism to enforce its decision.
Reading the decision, Judge Joan Donoghue, president of the ICJ, described the plight of Palestinians in Gaza, highlighting the harm to children and citing detailed descriptions of the humanitarian emergency provided by UN officials.
This, he stated, justifies the court’s decision to take emergency measures to avoid irreparable damage. She also read Israeli officials’ calls for a tough campaign, which she said justified the court’s order for Israel to punish people guilty of incitement.
An Israeli tank advances along the border with the Gaza Strip on January 21, 2024 in southern Israel, Israel. fake images
Israel called South Africa’s accusations false and “grossly distorted.” She says she has acted in self-defense against an enemy that attacked first and did everything she could to protect civilians, blaming Hamas for operating among them, which the fighters deny.
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 in full.
The United States noted that the ruling did not contain a conclusion on genocide and said it aligned with the American view that Israel had the right to take steps under international law to prevent any repeat of the October 7 attacks.
An explosion occurs during Israeli airstrikes in Gaza, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, seen from southern Israel, January 17, 2024. REUTERS
ASSAULT ON KHAN YOUNIS
In Gaza, the heaviest fighting in weeks is now raging in overcrowded areas home to hundreds of thousands of people who fled earlier clashes elsewhere.
Palestinian refugees in southern Gaza said they were disappointed by the court’s lack of a ceasefire order, but were also hopeful that the ruling would bring accountability.
“What happened was a victory,” said Mustafa Ibrahim, a human rights activist.
Palestinians fleeing Khan Younis, due to the Israeli ground operation, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, head 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 captives, which he said reflected a largely neglected point: the Hamas attack. unleashed the war.
The terrorists published a video on Friday in which three hostages appear calling for an end to the conflict. Israel has said those videos constitute psychological abuse.
Talks are accelerating about a possible temporary pause in fighting to free hostages and Palestinians held in Israel and allow more aid in Gaza.
An Israeli tank operates in Khan Younis during the 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 the emir of mediator Qatar and the White House said Washington was hopeful about progress.
A source with knowledge of the matter told Reuters that U.S. Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns and his Israeli counterpart are expected to meet with Qatar’s prime minister and Egypt’s spy chief in Europe on Sunday to discuss a second possible deal with hostages in Gaza.
U.S. and Israeli intelligence chiefs previously met with Qatari and Egyptian officials to help negotiate a short-lived truce in November that allowed the release of more than 100 hostages.
Smoke rises during an Israeli ground operation in Khan Younis, seen from a tent camp housing displaced Palestinians in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, January 25, 2024. REUTERS
The Biden administration has been trying 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 “intense battles” and attacks on Hamas fighters and infrastructure from air and ground.
It said it had discovered some 200 tunnels and destroyed more than 130 militant infrastructure sites in its latest operations.
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Residents said Israeli forces blew up buildings and homes in the western part of the city as gunfights raged.
Palestinians say Israel has hampered efforts to rescue the dead and wounded, as well as blocking hospitals, which Israel denies and blames Hamas terrorists for operating near them.
Hezbollah announced that four of its fighters were killed in an Israeli attack in southern Lebanon on Friday night. The group has been exchanging fire with Israel since it launched rockets across Lebanon’s southern border on October 8 in support of its ally Hamas.
On Friday it said it had fired rockets at Israeli military targets nine times during the day, including the Burkan (Volcano), which is carrying hundreds of kilograms of explosives.
In a new setback for affected Palestinians, the United States said it would suspend funding to the UN aid agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) after Israel alleged that 12 UNRWA employees were involved in the September 7 attacks. October.
UNRWA said it was urgently investigating and that “any UNRWA employee found involved in acts of terrorism” would be held accountable.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn