Israel guilty of genocide
The International Court of Justice at The Hague with an overwhelming voice, 15-2, has found the State of Israel implicit in inciting violence and genocide against the Palestinians. By calling upon Tel Aviv to act in order to stop “anything in relation to genocide in Gaza” and granting it a one-month timeframe to comply and report back, the World Court has made a landmark observation on a petition filed by South Africa. It has found Israel to be on the wrong side of defence, and upheld Pretoria’s right to sue the Jewish state, and validated its own jurisdiction to rule over it.
The salient features of the ruling read out by Justice Joan Donoghue are: Israel must take “immediate and effective” measures to ensure the provision of urgently needed humanitarian aid and basic services; all parties to the conflict in the Gaza Strip are bound by humanitarian law; the court has jurisdiction to issue provisional emergency measures; Israel must desist from killing, injuring, destroying life and preventing births in relation to Palestinians; and that Gaza today is a broken society where civilian population remains extremely vulnerable. Thus, the panel of judges with a majority ruled that the above acts fall within the scope of the Genocide Convention.
There was, however, a flip side and disappointment as the reputed court did not call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. But it unequivocally reprimanded Israel to stem the bloodletting. As the trial will take years to conclude, with a formal judgment on counts of genocide, it is perhaps reassuring that Israel is in the dock perhaps for the first time in its seven decades of barbarism. While the ICJ rulings are binding, they lack an enforcement mechanism. But what is certain is that times have changed and the world public opinion is against Israel. This exceptional piece of ruling must serve as a sanction for the UN to prevail over the far-right dispensation, and work instantly for a Two-State solution in the Middle East. South Africa’s initiative to lead from the front has annihilated Israel’s unchecked arrogance and war-mongering.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 27th, 2024.
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