By Shishang John
January 26, 2023
The court urged Israel to refrain from any possible genocidal acts as it presses its military operation in the Gaza Strip, but stopped short of ordering a ceasefire.
But the court warned Israel to “take all measures in its power to prevent” acts that could fall under the UN Genocide Convention, set up in 1948 as the world reeled from the horrors of the Nazi Holocaust.
Pro-Palestinian supporters react in celebration after watching the International Court of Justice (ICJ) delivering its decision following a hearing of the case against Israel brought by South Africa in The Hague at the Embassy of Palestine in Pretoria on January 26, 2024.
It also said Israel should “prevent and punish” any incitement to genocide.
The case was brought by South Africa, which has accused Israel of breaching the UN Genocide Convention.
Over two days of hearings earlier this month in the gilded hall of the Peace Palace, where the ICJ sits, lawyers from both sides battled it over the interpretation of this Convention
It urged the court to order Israel to “immediately suspend” its military operations in Gaza and allow humanitarian aid to reach the civiilians there.
Israel dismissed the case as a “grossly distorted story” and said that if any genocidal acts had been carried out, they had been executed against Israel during the October 7 Hamas attacks.
“What Israel seeks by operating in Gaza is not to destroy a people, but to protect a people, its people, who are under attack on multiple fronts,” said Tal Becker, Israel’s top lawyer.
