A “historic step” hailed by Pretoria, a “shame” denounced by Benjamin Netanyahu. As part of proceedings brought against Israel by South Africa, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) – the highest court of the UN – issued a highly anticipated decision on Friday, January 26, calling on Israel to do everything everything possible to prevent any act of “genocide” in the Gaza Strip and to allow humanitarian aid to enter.
While at this stage the ICJ is not ruling on whether Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, it has nevertheless called on the Jewish state to refrain from any possible genocidal act as it continues its military operation in the Gaza Strip.
Israel must take "immediate and effective measures to enable the provision of basic services and humanitarian assistance that the Palestinians urgently need to address the adverse living conditions faced by the Palestinians", the court ruled.
The procedure for recognizing a possible genocide in Gaza could take years, and the ICJ has not yet mentioned a ceasefire either. On the other hand, she called on Israel to "take all measures in its power to prevent" acts that could fall under the United Nations Convention on Genocide, established in 1948 after the Holocaust and on the basis of which South Africa South brought this procedure against Israel. She also said Israel should “prevent and punish” any incitement to genocide.
Also read “Genocide”, “war” or “against humanity” crimes… What words for the Israel-Hamas war?
Legally binding, but no way to enforce them
The decisions taken by the ICJ are binding on all UN member states, which is the case for Israel. But due to the lack of an international army or police force, the highest court of the UN does not have the means to execute them. For example, she ordered Russia to suspend its invasion of Ukraine, to no avail.
“The ICJ is accepted by all the member countries of the United Nations. It pronounces on the role of States, but with no means of imposing its decisions,” recalls Jean-Paul Chagnollaud, president of the Institute of Research and of Mediterranean Middle East Studies (iReMMO), on France 24. "We are in a situation where she orders transitional measures which are certainly important on a political level, but we are not going any further."
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Furthermore, decisions are systematically sent to the UN Security Council, and can therefore come up against, in this case, an American veto if the judges go against the Jewish state.
The decision of the ICJ judges may also have an impact on Israel's allies, against whom complicity for the delivery of arms or diplomatic support could be found.
“Today, this obligation is triggered for all States and for Israel’s allies,” says Johann Soufi, lawyer, former head of the Legal Affairs Office of UNRWA – the UNRWA agency, on France 24. the UN for Palestinian refugees -, building on a precedent dating from 2007, when the ICJ intervened between Bosnia and Serbia. “Today, these measures must be taken by the EU, France, the United States and all States.”
“It is much more difficult for other states to continue to support Israel in the face of a neutral third party which considers that there is a risk of genocide,” analyzes for AFP Juliette McIntyre, expert in international law at the University of South Australia.
More than a symbolic decision, the order issued by the ICJ is seen as a rebuke of Israel's conduct in the war. Ordering it to "prevent the destruction and ensure the preservation of evidence", the Court orders Israel to submit a report within one month to show that it has complied with its judgment.
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The ICJ's decision is an "important development" which "contributes to isolating Israel" and "denouncing its crimes" in the Gaza Strip, Hamas responded in a statement.
The order issued by the ICJ is "an important warning that no state is above the law", for his part reacted the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Palestinian Authority, Riyad al-Maliki, in a video message. “States now have a clear legal obligation to end Israel’s genocidal war against the Palestinian people of Gaza.”
For his part, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu considers the accusations of “genocide” in Gaza made by South Africa “scandalous”.
“The despicable attempt to deny Israel” the “fundamental right” to defend itself is “blatant discrimination against the Jewish state, and it has been rightly rejected,” he adds.
From Pretoria to Washington, chain reactions
Particularly expected, this decision did not take long to provoke a reaction. At the origin of the procedure, South Africa hailed Friday a "decisive victory for the international rule of law and an important step in the quest for justice for the Palestinian people", at the end of the hearing of the ICJ in The Hague.
In its statement, the South African Ministry of Foreign Affairs believes that the Court "has determined that Israel's actions in Gaza are plausibly genocidal and has indicated provisional measures on this basis", thanking it "for its rapid decision".
For its part, the European Union expects “complete and immediate” implementation of the verdict rendered by the ICJ.
The decisions "of the International Court of Justice are binding on the parties and they must comply with them. The European Union expects their full, immediate and effective implementation", indicated a joint statement from the head of diplomacy European Union, Josep Borrell, and the European Commission.
We take note of today's order of the @CIJ_ICJ 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… pic.twitter.com/vxQk2iXCYl
— European Commission (@EU_Commission) January 26, 2024
Spain, one of the most critical voices in Europe towards Israel since the start of the conflict with Hamas, welcomed the ICJ's decision.
“We welcome the decision of the International Court of Justice and ask the parties to apply the provisional measures it has decreed,” said Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in a message published on the social network X.
We celebrate the decision of the International Court of Justice and we welcome the parties who applied the provisional measures that were decreed.
We defend peace and the end of the war, the liberation of the prisoners, access to humanitarian aid and stability...
— Pedro Sánchez (@sanchezcastejon) January 26, 2024
France, for its part, indicated that the decision of the International Court of Justice “reinforced its determination” to work for a ceasefire. In its press release, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicates that it is considering submitting "observations" to the ICJ, in which France will indicate in particular "the importance it attaches to the Court taking into account the exceptional seriousness of the crime of genocide, which requires the establishment of intent.
“We hope that Israel's attacks against women, children and the elderly will end,” responded Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Turkey will continue "to follow the (judicial) process to ensure that war crimes committed against innocent Palestinian civilians do not go unpunished." A week earlier, the Turkish president had claimed that his country was providing incriminating evidence against Israel to South Africa.
Israel's main ally, the United States, has reaffirmed that accusations of "genocide" against Israel are "unfounded." "We continue to believe that the accusations of genocide are baseless and note that the Court has not found genocide or called for a ceasefire," said a spokesperson for the Department of Defense. State.
In Israel, the Minister of Internal Security, Itamar Ben Gvir, a far-right figure, calls on the State not to respect the precautionary measures requested by the ICJ, which he considers to be “anti-Semitic in nature”.
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On Thursday, Hamas committed to respecting a ceasefire if it was demanded by the ICJ, but on condition that Israel also complies with it.
The war was sparked by Hamas' unprecedented attack on Israeli soil on October 7, which resulted in the deaths of more than 1,140 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official data. Israel vowed to "annihilate" Hamas and launched a vast military operation, which caused the deaths of more than 26,000 Palestinians, the vast majority women, children and adolescents, according to the latest report established by the ministry of the Health of the Islamist movement.
With AFP
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