The International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Friday ordered Israel to take all measures within its power to prevent genocide in its operations in Gaza.
In a televised ruling, the ICJ gave six orders regarding the emergency relief sought by South Africa, which was resoundingly voted for by most of the 17 judges that adjudicated the matter.
The two judges who voted against the ruling were from Uganda and Israel.
Although the court did not call for an immediate cessation of Israel’s operations in Gaza, the verdict was a victory for South Africa, which sought emergency relief for the people of Palestine.
The ICJ ordered the following measures against Israel:
- that Israel shall take all measures to prevent all acts of genocide
- ensure the Israeli Defence Force does not commit acts of genocide
- take all measures to prevent and punish incitement to genocide
- take immediate and effective measures to allow basic services and humanitarian assistance to Gaza
- preserve evidence
- Isreal shall submit a report on all measures taken to give effect to ICJ order within one month
The ICJ said South Africa had proved there was a plausible case of genocide and Israel must respect the UN Genocide Convention.
Israel, supported by the United States, has consistently said their retaliatory bombings and ground operations were a legitimate form of self-defence in response to the October 7 attacks by Hamas that left over 1 200 Israelis dead and over 200 abducted.
The ICJ said Hamas must immediately release the hostages it abducted during its daring attack on Israel.
The World Court cautioned that its ruling does not in any way point to a conclusion on the main matter brought by South Africa accusing Israel of committing acts of genocide against the people of Palestine.
While the ruling is binding on all signatory members, including Israel, observers warn there is no mechanism to enforce it.
- This article was originally published by TheBulrushes. It is republished by TechFinancials under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Licence. Read the original article