The International Court of Justice has released its first order regarding Israel’s retaliation in Gaza to the Hamas attacks on October 7. The court gave its declaration after South Africa filed a case accusing Israel of genocide in its assault on Gaza. The seventeen judge panel did not order for a ceasefire in Gaza but demanded that Israel should try to control death and damage which is occuring due to its offensive in Gaza, by taking all measures within its power.
Meanwhile, Israel’s prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has slammed the international court of Justice and called the charges against Israel as outrageous. He also slammed South Africa for denying Israel the right to defend itself. “The charge of genocide levelled against Israel is not only false, its outrageous and decent people living everywhere should reject it,” Netanyahu said.
He went on to firmly register as the Prime Minister of Israel that Israel will continue to defend itself against Hamas, terming it as a genocidal terror organization. Netanyahu also acknowledged the fact that the court rejected the allegations which goes against Israel’s right to defend itself. He labeled the case against Israel, as a vile attempt to deny Israel its right to defend itself and a blatant discrimination against the Jewish state. Netannyahu termed Hamas’ actions which it vowed to commit repeatedly; as most heinous and compared them to the Holocaust.
South Africa which brought the case against Israel had asked the top court to order Israel to halt its operation, but the top court decided not to order a ceasefire or even impose genocide charges against Israel for its militray offensive in Gaza in its preliminary decision on the case. The International court of justice ruled that certain actions of Israel in the Gaza Strip will fall within the terms of Genocide Convention.
Cyril Ramaphosa, President of South Africa welcomed ICJ’s decision and said that the International court of Justice vindicated his country by acknowledging Israel’s military offensive in Gaza.
Ramaphosa drew parallels between the Gaza war and the apartheid and said that the ruling is a “a victory for international law, for human rights, and above all, for justice”. “We are also a people who were the victims of the crime of apartheid. We know what apartheid looks like. We experienced and lived through it. Sadly, many people died and were exiled like our beloved leader Oliver Tambo and others, others were jailed, like the father of our democracy (Nelson Mandela) and others were maimed.”
Like many of his peers, Ramaphosa stressed on the need to find a permanent two state solution to the cause which would enable Palestine and Israel to live side by side as independent states.
Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant South Africa’s labelled the request to consider the war in Gaza as genocide as antisemitic and said that International Court of Justice in The Hague went above and beyond when it granted South Africa’s request to discuss the claim.
“The International Court of Justice in The Hague went above and beyond, when it granted South Africa’s antisemitic request to discuss the claim of genocide in Gaza, and now refuses to reject the petition outright,” he said.
Aligning his stance with that of his Prime Minister, Gallant said, “Those who seek justice, will not find it on the leather chairs of the court chambers in The Hague — they will find it in the Hamas tunnels in Gaza, where 136 hostages are held, and where those who murdered our children are hiding. They will find it in the ‘Spirit of the IDF,’ a document that outlines the values and conduct of our moral and professional soldiers.”
Comments