The World Court orders Israel to prevent acts of genocide in Gaza

THE HAGUE:

The World Court ordered Israel on Friday to prevent acts of genocide against Palestinians and do more to help civilians, although it did not order a ceasefire as requested by South Africa.

While the ruling dashed Palestinian hopes for a binding order to end the war in Gaza, it also represented a legal setback for Israel, which had hoped to dismiss a case brought under the genocide convention established in its ashes. Holocaust.

The court found that Palestinians were protected under the convention and that there was a case for a trial if their rights were denied in a war that the court said was causing serious humanitarian harm. He also called on Palestinian armed groups to release hostages taken in the October 7 attacks that precipitated the conflict.

Read more: Israel braces for World Court ruling, focuses attack on southern Gaza

Palestinian officials largely welcomed the decision. The Palestinian Foreign Ministry said it was a welcome reminder “no state is above the law”. Sami Abu Zohri said a senior Hamas official Reuters the decision will contribute to “isolating the occupation and exposing its crimes in Gaza”.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the court “justly rejected the outrageous request” to deprive Israel of what he called its “basic right to defend itself” by ordering it to stop fighting.

“But the mere allegation that Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinians is not only false, it is outrageous, and the court’s willingness to even discuss this is a shame that will not be erased for generations.”

Israeli Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir mocked the decision in a two-word social media post with a Yiddish-style expletive: “Hague shmague.”

Also read: Who are the veteran South African and Israeli judges hearing the Gaza genocide case?

South Africa brought the case to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) earlier this month, asking it to grant emergency measures to stop the fighting, which has killed more than 26,000 Palestinians and displaced the majority of the population in more than three months. heavy bombing campaign.

It has accused Israel of state genocide in its attack, which began after Hamas militants invaded Israel, killing 1,200 and kidnapping more than 240. Israel has tried to dismiss the case.

The judges ordered Israel to take all measures in 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 in a month.

He did not decide the merits of the genocide allegations, which could take years. Although the decision cannot be appealed, the court has no mechanism to enforce its decision.

Israel had called for the case to be dismissed, calling South Africa’s claims false and “grossly distorted”. It says it acted in Gaza in self-defense against an enemy that attacked first and accuses Hamas of harming civilians by operating among them, which the militants deny.

The South African government, which was allowed to make the case on the legal principle that genocide is such a serious crime that all countries have a duty to prevent it, hailed the court ruling as a “decisive victory” for the international rule of law.

“South Africa sincerely hopes that Israel will not act to frustrate the implementation of this decree, as it has publicly threatened to do, but will act to fully comply with it, as it is required to do,” its foreign ministry said. . in a statement.

The country’s Deputy President Paul Mashatile and Justice Minister Ronald Lamola were seen cheering and dancing at a rally of the ruling African National Congress party after the court’s verdict, which was broadcast live on television.

Attack on Khan Yunis

On the ground in Gaza, the war has entered a particularly destructive phase, with the fiercest fighting of recent weeks now taking place in areas crowded with hundreds of thousands of people who fled earlier fighting elsewhere.

On Friday, Israel continued its bombardment of the main southern city of Khan Younis, where it said it was engaged in “intense fighting”, with forces hitting dozens of Hamas fighters and infrastructure from the air and ground.

Residents said fighting raged overnight, with Israeli forces blowing up buildings and homes in the western part of the city in one of its biggest offensives so far, among hundreds of thousands of displaced civilians.

Israel said it had discovered around 200 tunnel shafts and destroyed more than 130 “militant” infrastructure sites in its latest operations, as well as killing “many militants”.

Palestinians say Israel has blockaded hospitals making it impossible for rescuers to reach the dead and wounded. Israel denies it has blockaded hospitals and says Hamas fighters are responsible for fighting near them because they were operating there.

“We believe many victims are still under the rubble and on the streets, the occupation is preventing ambulances and emergency teams from reaching them,” said Gaza Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf Al-Kindra.