THE HAGUE: The UN’s International Court of Justice (ICJ), by a 15-2 majority, has ordered Israel to take action to prevent acts of genocide and allow humanitarian aid but stopped short of calling for an immediate ceasefire as had been sought by South Africa in the case it had filed against Tel Aviv.
However, the ruling is still an embarrassment for Israel and its closest allies, including the US and Germany, as the 17-judge ICJ panel voted for emergency measures, which covered most of what South Africa asked for barring an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
South Africa’s petition was supported by over 75 countries, most of them from the developing bloc, but India was a glaring exception.
“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 court ordered in its interim ruling while asking Israel to report back in a month the steps it had taken to comply with the directions. However, Israel can ignore the ICJ’s order as there is no way to enforce it.
The ICJ said it was “gravely concerned” about the fate of the hostages in Gaza and asked Hamas to immediately release them without conditions. On January 11, South Africa had told the court that Israel’s unabated attacks were bringing about “the destruction of the population” of Gaza.