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The top court for the United Nations on Friday ordered Israel to take measures to prevent and punish direct incitement of genocide in its war in Gaza, although it stopped short of ordering a ceasefire in a case brought forth by South Africa.
International Court of Justice said it won’t throw out case on the main genocide questionThomson Reuters
· Posted: Jan 26, 2024 4:00 AM EST | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago
ICJ interim order calls on Israel to prevent genocide in Gaza: Hear the rulingJoan Donoghue, president of the International Court of Justice, read out a preliminary ruling that ordered Israel to do more to reduce deaths in Gaza. The ruling, which is binding but not enforceable, did not call for a full ceasefire.
The top court for the United Nations on Friday ordered Israel to take measures to prevent and punish direct incitement of genocide in its war in Gaza, although it stopped short of ordering a ceasefire in a case brought forth by South Africa.
“The state of Israel shall… take all measures within its power to prevent the commission of all acts within the scope of Article II of the genocide convention,” the International Court of Justice (ICJ) said.
In a sweeping ruling, a large majority of the 17-judge panel of the ICJ voted for urgent measures which covered most of what South Africa asked for with the notable exception of ordering a halt to Israeli military action in Gaza.
The court ordered Israel to refrain from any acts that could fall under the genocide convention and also ensure that its troops do not commit any genocidal acts in Gaza.
WATCH l Palestinian official reaction to ICJ decisions:
ICJ ruling around Israel must be implemented, Palestinian official saysPalestinian Assistant Minister of Multilateral Affairs Ammar Hijazi says the ICJ order around Israel’s war is ‘momentous’ and shows the international court recognizes the gravity of the situation in Gaza.
Israel must report to the court within a month on what it’s doing to uphold the order.
The decision is legally-binding, but the court has no way to enforce it.
Former Human Rights Watch executive director Kenneth Roth told CBC News on Friday that the court didn’t have the capacity to make a ruling on a ceasefire because Hamas is a non-state actor. The court did urge Hamas to release the hostages it still holds from the Oct. 7 attacks in southern Israel.
“I think, frankly, this is as far as the court can go,” said Roth.
Roth said the ruling could potentially make an “enormous difference” to the lives of Palestinians on the ground and apply “big political pressure” for Israel to abide by the ruling.
Demonstrators gathered near the International Court of Justice, or World Court, in The Hague, Netherlands, on Friday. The United Nations’ top court has decided not to throw out genocide charges against Israel for its military offensive in Gaza as part of its preliminary decision. (Patrick Post/The Associated Press)An estimated 1,200 people were killed during the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, including Israeli security forces and civilians, along with foreign nationals, according to the Israeli government. About 250 others were taken hostage. Israel responded with tremendous force in Gaza, saying its attacks are intended to take out Hamas and its supporters, not civilians.
The health ministry in Gaza has said thousands of women and children are among the more than 25,000 people in the territory killed since then, a tally that does not differentiate between civilians and Hamas fighters.
Limited humanitarian aid has been allowed into Gaza over the last 100 days.
Israeli judge votes in favour of 2 measuresThe ICJ, also known as the World Court, did not deal with South Africa’s main allegation on whether Israel is committing genocide, though it said Friday it would not throw out the case, as Israel requested.
Palestinians appear to be a protected group under the genocide convention, the court said.
“The ICJ judges assessed the facts and the law, they ruled in favour of humanity and international law,” Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki said in a televised speech.
WATCH | South Africa’s reaction to Friday’s decision:
ICJ ruling on Israel in Gaza will help save lives, South Africa saysNaledi Pandor, South Africa’s minister of international relations, says she is ‘satisfied’ with the directives given by the International Court of Justice in response to a case brought by the African nation, but said she would have wanted to include a call for a ceasefire.
South Africa hailed what it called a “decisive victory” for international rule of law in an initial statement. Outside the court in the Hague, Naledi Pandor, South Africa Minister of International Relations, said it is vital states “exercise their responsibility to protect global citizens.”
“South Africa had the view that we could not sit idly by,” she said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel’s “commitment to international law is unwavering,” but he again rejected the premise of South Africa’s case.
“The charge of genocide levelled against Israel is not only false, it’s outrageous, and decent people should reject it,” said Netanyahu.
“Our war is against Hamas terrorists, not against Palestinian civilians,” he added. “We will continue to facilitate humanitarian assistance and to do our utmost to keep civilians out of harm’s way, even as Hamas uses civilians as human shields.”
WATCH | Netanyahu says Israel will ‘continue to defend itself’ in war against Hamas:
Israel will ‘continue to defend itself,’ Netanyahu says after ICJ rulingsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says his country will continue to defend itself against Hamas, adding, ‘the charge of genocide levelled against Israel is not only false, it’s outrageous.’
The Israeli judge on the 17-member panel, Aharon Barak, wrote in a separate opinion that “although I am convinced there is no plausibility of genocide,” he voted for two of the measures. He said he joined the majority in ordering Israel to refrain from public incitement “in the hope that the measure will help to decrease tensions and discourage damaging rhetoric.”
He said he voted for a measure about ensuring humanitarian aid in the hope that it “will alleviate the consequences of the armed conflict for the most vulnerable.” The Ugandan judge on the panel was the lone member to not vote in favour of the humanitarian aid measure.
Trudeau tight-lipped about potential decisionDuring two days of public hearings earlier this month, South Africa condemned Hamas for its brutal attack in Israel in October but said there is no justification for the scale of Israel’s response in Gaza.
South Africa has asked the court to order Israel to cease its assault on the Palestinian territory, among the nine emergency measures it has asked for. It has also pushed for more humanitarian aid to enter Gaza.
An Israeli tank and other military vehicles guard a position as Palestinians flee Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on Friday. (AFP/Getty Images)Israel rejected the genocide claim outright and argued in the court that South Africa’s claim was “distorted.” Israel also said it had a right to defend itself and was targeting Hamas, not Palestinians civilians.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said Canada supports the court and is “watching carefully” as it deliberates on the allegation — but he would not indicate whether Canada agrees with the allegation, or even if Canada would recognize the ICJ’s ruling if it does find Israel to be guilty of genocide.
Ideas53:58IDEAS in the Hague: A Question of Genocide
Last week, South Africa and Israel were at the International Court of Justice with two starkly opposed versions of the conflict in Gaza: South Africa’s legal team argued Israel’s actions there violate the Genocide Convention. Israel’s lawyers argued it is acting in self-defence. The court must first decide whether to order emergency measures to stop the violence until it considers the bigger question. IDEAS host Nahlah Ayed was in the Hague. This episode features excerpts from the two-day hearings.
With files from CBC News and the Associated Press