The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has delivered its ruling on the emergency measures requested by South Africa in its genocide case against Israel over its war on the Gaza Strip.
The court said, among others, that Israel must take steps to prevent acts of genocide in Gaza but stopped short of ordering a ceasefire.
The judges have not ruled on the merits of the genocide allegations, which may take years to decide.
Since October 7, Israel’s military campaign has killed at least 26,083 people and wounded 64,487 others, according to officials in Gaza. Thousands more are missing under the rubble, most of them presumed dead.
The ICJ’s provisional measures stop short of calling for a ceasefire, but experts say the orders could make the war harder for Israel to wage.
Geoffrey Nice, a British human rights lawyer, says the order places Israel in a very difficult position.
Nice, who was the lead prosecutor in Slobodan Milosevic trial at the international tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague, pointed out that a complete refusal to comply with the orders that have been given will “draw hatred from all sorts of places and add to what may seem to be a public sentiment that favours Palestinians.”
He also told Al Jazeera that by bringing this case to ICJ, South Africa did something that only one other country has ever done before, referring to The Gambia which launched a lawsuit accusing Myanmar of genocide against the Rohingya.
“What South Africa was showing, without spelling it out, is ‘we’ve done something that you – the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, every other country that has power over Israel – should have been doing,” he said.
Scottish leader Humza Yousaf has also reacted to the court’s interim ruling, saying the killing and destruction in Gaza must stop.
“Urgent humanitarian assistance must be provided to prevent more suffering. Hostages must be released immediately,” he wrote on X.
“With such death and destruction, we will continue to call for an immediate ceasefire.”
The #ICJ order is clear.
The killing and destruction in Gaza must stop.
Urgent humanitarian assistance must be provided to prevent more suffering.
Hostages must be released immediately.
With such death and destruction, we will continue to call for an immediate ceasefire.
— Humza Yousaf (@HumzaYousaf) January 26, 2024
Source: Al Jazeera