International Court of Justice: No end to the fighting in Gaza

The International Court of Justice rejects the request to stop the attacks. But Israel must take measures to avoid genocide.

Israel’s military operation in Gaza is allowed to continue, but soldiers should neither commit genocide nor incite each other to commit it Photo: Ronen Zvulun/Reuters

THE HAGUE/RAMALLAH/BERLIN taz | In a first decision on Israeli military action in Gaza, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague did not, as South Africa had hoped, call on Israel to immediately stop hostilities. However, the court ordered Israel to do “everything in its power” to prevent genocide in Gaza.

The highest UN court also declared itself responsible for ruling on South Africa’s claim that Israel was committing genocide in Gaza.

The emergency measures, which the 17-member judicial panel adopted almost unanimously, are intended to protect the lives of Palestinians in Gaza, said Joan Donoghue, the president. Specifically, Israel now has to ensure that its military does not commit acts that fall under the United Nations Genocide Convention. The country must also take measures to prevent and punish genocide and calls for it, and improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza. Within a month, the Court must be informed of the steps taken, which will then submit them to South Africa.

The ICJ appealed to Hamas to release the remaining Israeli hostages “immediately and unconditionally.”

South Africa is happy

The judgment is binding, but the Court does not have the means to enforce it. By holding Israel accountable for implementing the measures, he still adds weight to the ruling. The South African government expressed its satisfaction and spoke in a statement of a “convincing victory for international law and a milestone in the search for justice for the Palestinian people.”

It will likely be several years before the Court makes a final ruling. The trial began two weeks ago with the presentation of the South African indictment. This accuses Israel of genocide – due to “threatened, used, tolerated, undertaken and currently carried out actions against the Palestinian people as a result of the attacks in Israel on October 7, 2023”. Israel, on the other hand, invokes its right to self-defense and emphasizes that Hamas’ massacres against Israeli civilians constitute genocide.

In her reaction to the verdict on Friday, Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) emphasized that Hamas was also bound by international humanitarian law and must finally release all hostages. “We will support this with all our might, as well as the measure ordered by Israel to urgently allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza,” explained Baerbock. The interim measures are binding under international law. “Israel must adhere to this.”

Baerbock had already made unusually sharp comments about attacks by the Israeli military on Khan Yunis. “There are also rules when it comes to the right to self-defense and international humanitarian law also applies to the fight against terrorists,” said Baerbock. She again called on Israel to allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza – and to adjust its military strategy. People couldn’t just disappear into thin air. “That’s why a call to leave these places is not enough, but what is finally needed is a humanitarian ceasefire – also so that all hostages are finally released.” At the beginning of January, Baerbock had already called on Israel to send more aid supplies to the Gaza Strip during a visit to the Egyptian-Israeli border crossing at Rafah allow.

Disappointment in Ramallah

As was the case at the opening of the proceedings, demonstrators from both groups were present in front of the courthouse and followed the events on their own screens. On the Palestinian side, spokeswoman Nadia Slimi expressed confidence that the verdict would bring justice for the people of Gaza. A pro-Israel rally was taking place on the street corner. There, Rotterdam resident Nico van Noordt commented: “A conflict in which one side wants to kill you, but you want to live, cannot be solved, because you cannot live half.”

In West Bank cities, Jerusalem and Israel, the streets were deserted as the verdict was announced. Due to heavy rain, a cold wave and the start of the weekend, the solidarity events planned on the Palestinian side were canceled. Only in the city hall of Ramallah did a few hundred guests gather to follow a live broadcast from The Hague under the title “Thank you, South Africa”.

Many are disappointed that the judges in The Hague are not calling for a ceasefire. “I think of the families in Gaza because of the cold,” says student Abla Saleh, who came to Ramallah from a suburb of Jerusalem. “Just 80 kilometers from here they are starving in self-made tents and at this moment bombs are falling.”

For many Palestinians, however, the fact that Israel’s actions were negotiated in The Hague is a success. “It is clear to me that Netanyahu would not have recognized a ceasefire,” said Shatah Hanaysha, a journalist. But the 26-year-old hopes that the increasing pressure from the international community as a result of the verdict can at least stop the current escalation in the West Bank.

“I hope that the future monitoring by the court will slowly calm down the situation,” said Mohammad Al-Liftawi, a trader from the Old City of Jerusalem. “Without tourists we will soon be bankrupt,” he warns. “Then, in addition to the genocide in Gaza, the situation in the West Bank will also explode.”