The United Nations’ top court Friday ordered Israel to limit deaths and comply with international law against genocide in its military offensive in Gaza, but stopped short of demanding an end to the war.
The International Court of Justice in The Hague issued the ruling in a case brought by South Africa accusing Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
South Africa had asked the court to issue an emergency decree demanding Israel halt its military campaign until the case is decided.
The court did not grant that request. But in a win for South Africa, the panel of 17 judges declared that the genocide case may proceed and ordered Israel to refrain from killing Palestinians and to allow more humanitarian aid to enter the besieged coastal enclave. The court also said Israel must act to prevent and punish incitement to genocide and to report back within a month to show that it is complying with the measures.
Although Palestinians had hoped for more decisive measures, many welcomed the ruling, with the foreign ministry of the Palestinian Authority saying the court had “ruled in favor of humanity and international law.”
The court has no way of enforcing its order, and Israel does not recognize the court’s jurisdiction, although it sent lawyers to argue its case.
Most of the world sees Israel committing genoccide — defined in international law as an attempt to destroy a national, ethnic, racial or religious group, in whole or in part.
Israel is not killing that many people. It is not Russia fighting a war in Ukraine. Or Ukraine killing Russians. Or SA killing Yemenis, Or Sudanese…you get the point.
It is the only Jewish state so keep the faith. Or for others keep the focus.
Thus, Israel can legitimately cite the intent of Hamas to commit genocide against Israel. Therefore, Israel can legitimately ask the UN to set up a site outside Gaza and the West Bank for the Palestinians (and their Hamas overlords) to go to from Gaza and the West Bank. Absent such a location, Hamas is responsible for all claims of genocide between Israel and Palestine. And they shall be held responsible. Start by confiscating all the assets held by Hamas’ leadership outside Gaza and the West Bank. Those could be used to purchase the land from whomever wishes to sell it. Now the UN has to figure out how to refute those known and multiply-verified facts. Watch how fast they ignore it.
Israelis could care less about all of that. Israel disregards the UN. It is one-sided so Israel walks away. The UN has always been one-sided.
Hamas started this war. If Mexico did this to the US? If SK attacked Japan? The list can go on endlessly.
Israel is singled out after others start a war.
As if Israel is winning this is illegal.
Those that are crazy think Israel controlled who started the war. Or lay blame only on Israel. Imagine blaming France every time Germany started a war. Or blaming Mexico every time we started a war.
But it goes further it is considered evil genius. Power of the mind.
Well, folks bullets are flying. That was Hamas’s idea.
Outlawing a war Israel has to fight that someone else started has happened in the general assembly several times. No, I do not have the bleeding UN notes. I could care less It is the same story.
Oh outlaw Israel fighting this war does not mean Hamas stops fighting this war.
There was dumb talk about the overuse of power. There is fighting in the streets block by block.
Blame Israel for defending itself aggressively? Okay but shove the UN.
Sorry you do not understand the severity of this ruling. Based on evidence seen to date, the International Court of Justice ruled that Israel must take steps to prevent genocide in Gaza by following the following six orders:
The court ordered Israel to “take all measures within its power to prevent the commission of all acts within the scope” of the U.N. convention on genocide. Referring to protecting Palestinian civilians, the court said Israel should work to prevent “killing members of the group; causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; and imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group.” Approved in a 15-2 vote.
The court ordered Israel to “ensure with immediate effect that its military does not commit any acts described in point 1 above.” Approved in a 15-2 vote.
The court said Israel “shall take all measures within its power to prevent and punish the direct and public incitement to commit genocide in relation to members of the Palestinian group in the Gaza Strip.” Approved in a 16-1 vote.
Israel was ordered to “take immediate and effective measures to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance to address the adverse conditions of life faced by Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.” Approved in a 16-1 vote.
The court ordered Israel to “take effective measures to prevent the destruction and ensure the preservation of evidence related to allegations of acts within the scope” of the relevant articles in the genocide convention. Approved in a 15-2 vote.
The court said Israel “shall submit a report to the court on all measures taken to give effect to this order within one month as from the date of this order.” Approved in a 15-2 vote.
Israeli Judge Aharon Barak said he supported those orders in the hope that they would “help to decrease tensions and discourage damaging rhetoric” while easing the ”consequences of the armed conflict for the most vulnerable.”
Such provisional measures issued by the world court are legally binding, but it is not clear if Israel will comply with them.
Israel cares very much what that the world is calling Israel actions as genocide in Gaza. The ICJ court ruled that an investigation of genocide is needed as put forth by South Africa. Israel sent their lawyers to argue against the South Africa case against Israel but lost. Israel lawyers have been involved with the ICJ.
Countries like the US that aid Israel carry out Gaza genocide are concerned.
Sanctions can be imposed on countries that commit genocide and on countries that support Israeli genocide efforts.
Your ideas are just making the case stronger for ICJ to label Israel as a genocide country. The ICJ has made an intelligent ruling and requiring Israel to respond to six orders. If Israel ignores the ICJ orders, then the countries of the world will punish Israel with sanctions.
The equivalent of those countries refusing the polio vaccine in a polio epidemic. Yet those same countries would be SCREAMING about their high death tolls–and asking WHY they don’t have any vaccine…???
This is genocide because of the killing, injuries, starvation, medical, trauma, and destruction of infrastructure, homes, shops, churches, schools, universities, libraries, and hospitals. “If it walks like a duck, talks like a duck” I am sure it is genocide.
Ethnic cleansing is rendering an area ethnically homogeneous by using force or intimidation to remove from a given area persons of another ethnic or religious group, which is contrary to international law.
Israel is in deep shyt and geting deeper. Soon the wacky genocidal Israeli government will feel the weight of USA and the world come down on them in many ways.
**I have already written to my Congressman and Senators to take action against Israeli genocide. Next I will wrrite to the President. **
Israel can not longer claim the moral high ground regarding genocide.
But the court did order Israel to comply with the Genocide Convention, to send more aid to Gaza and to inform the court of its efforts to do so — interim measures that felt like a rebuke to many Israelis and a moral victory to many Palestinians.
For many Israelis, the fact that a state founded in the aftermath of the Holocaust had been accused of genocide was “one hell of a symbol,” Alon Pinkas, an Israeli political commentator and former ambassador, said after the ruling by the court in The Hague.
“That we’re even mentioned in the same sentence as the concept of genocide — not even atrocity, not disproportionate force, not war crime, but genocide — that is extremely uncomfortable,” he added.
We take note of today’s order of the International Court of Justice on South Africa’s request for the indication of provisional measures.
The EU reaffirms its continuing support to the International Court of Justice, the principal judicial organ of the United Nations.
Orders of the International Court of Justice are binding on the Parties and they must comply with them. The EU expects their full, immediate and effective implementation.
Hey I have an idea. Europe does not want the Gazans. The US no go. The rest of the world No Go. The Arab Muslims absolutely not. No Muslim Brotherhood crap.
Send the Gazans to South Africa to be safe from Israel.
Okay, Israel will never commit acts of genocide against the Palestinians regardless of the slander that they are. I can say this firmly and truthfully because the acts are ethnic cleansing, not genocide. Cry me a river somewhere else.
The Gazans belong in Palestine. I say send the Isralis to Africa. Europe does not want Jews who commit genocide. The Arab world does not want Jews that commit geneocide. The rest of the world does not want Jews that commit geneocide.
No Israel is not letting enough food in and they are not letting it get distributed to the most of the people. That is the truth that the UN and NGOs are telling the world. People are starving!
You call genocide ethnic cleansing. Your definition of ethnic cleansing therefore must include excessive killing and injury to civilians, destroying more than 80% of homes, apartments, refugee camps, shops, businesses, water supplies, power supplies, communications, schools, churches, universities, libraries, hospitals, roads, transportation, and destruction of their culture. But you are biased and confused. The ICJ is calling for an end to genocide because that is exactly the definition of genocide per International genocide law.
Israel did not need to do this massive killing, injuring and destroying in Gaza.