The United Nations’ top court has refused to throw out the genocide case that South Africa filed against Israel. The International Court of Justice is not deciding Friday whether Israel has committed genocide in the Gaza Strip but only ruling on South Africa’s request for interim measures, including an order for Israel to halt its military offensive in Gaza. While Israel asked the court to throw out the case, court president Joan E. Donoghue said a panel of 17 judges concluded that it has appropriate jurisdiction and therefore “cannot accede to Israel’s request for the case to be removed.” Donoghue opened the hearing in The Hague, Netherlands, by noting that Israel’s war against Hamas “is causing massive civilian casualties, extensive destruction of civilian infrastructure and the displacement of the overwhelming majority of the population in Gaza. “The court is acutely aware of the extent of the human tragedy that is unfolding in the region and is deeply concerned about the continuing loss of life and human suffering,” the judge said.
Quick Read
- UN Court Retains Genocide Case Against Israel: The International Court of Justice refused to dismiss South Africa’s genocide case against Israel.
- Ruling on Interim Measures: The court only ruled on interim measures, including a request for Israel to stop its military action in Gaza.
- Israel’s Request Denied: The court, stating its jurisdiction, denied Israel’s request to remove the case.
- Massive Civilian Impact in Gaza: Court president Joan E. Donoghue highlighted the extensive civilian casualties and displacement in Gaza due to Israel’s military actions.
- Demand for Containment of Harm by Israel: The U.N. court demanded Israel to minimize death and damage in Gaza, stopping short of ordering a cease-fire.
- South Africa’s Role: South Africa brought the case and requested the court to order Israel to cease its operations in Gaza.
- Anticipated Court Decision: The decision, still an interim one, could take years for the full case to be heard.
- Provisional Measures Requested: South Africa sought interim measures to protect Palestinians in Gaza, including suspending military operations and allowing aid access.
- Palestinian and Israeli Reactions: Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh expected actions to stop aggression; Israeli spokesperson Eylon Levy expected case dismissal.
- Israel’s Serious Approach: Israel sent a high-level legal team, indicating the case’s significance to them.
- Continued Conflict in Gaza: Israel’s offensive in Gaza followed Hamas militants’ attacks, causing extensive casualties and displacements.
- Health Ministry’s Casualty Report: Over 26,000 Palestinians killed in the conflict, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
- International Law Perspective: Legal experts anticipated the court’s reluctance to order a full cease-fire but expected consideration of provisional measures.
- Potential Compliance Issues: It’s unclear if Israel would comply with any court order; Hamas agreed to abide by a cease-fire if ordered.
- U.S. Stance Crucial: The U.S. response, as Israel’s key ally, is pivotal, with potential U.N. Security Council implications.
- Genocide Case’s Significance: The case challenges Israel’s national identity, with South Africa drawing parallels to its apartheid history.
The Associated Press has the story:
UN court keeps genocide case against Israel alive, fails to order cease-fire
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) —
The top U.N. court stopped short Friday of ordering a cease-fire in Gaza but demanded that Israel try to contain death and damage in its military offensive in the tiny coastal enclave.
South Africa, which brought the case, had asked for the court to order Israel to halt its operation.
The United Nations’ top court decided on Friday not to throw out genocide charges against Israel for its military offensive in Gaza, as part of a preliminary decision in a case that goes to the core of one of the world’s most intractable conflicts.
South Africa, which brought the case, has asked for the court to order Israel to halt its operation in the tiny coastal enclave.
In the highly anticipated decision made by a panel of 17 judges, the International Court of Justice decided not to throw out the case. The reading of the ruling is ongoing.
“The court is acutely aware of the extent of the human tragedy that is unfolding in the region and is deeply concerned about the continuing loss of life and human suffering,” Joan E. Donoghue, the court’s president, said.
Friday’s decision is only an interim one; it could take years for the full case brought by South Africa to be considered. Israel rejects the genocide accusation and had asked the court to throw the charges out.
While the case winds its way through the court, South Africa has asked the judges “as a matter of extreme urgency” to impose so-called provisional measures to protect Palestinians in Gaza — and the court could order those on Friday.
Top of the South African list is a request for the court to order Israel to “immediately suspend its military operations in and against Gaza.” It is also asking for Israel to take “reasonable measures” to prevent genocide and allow access for desperately needed aid.
In a statement Thursday, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh said he hoped the decision would “include immediate action to stop the aggression and genocide against our people in the Gaza Strip … and a rapid flow of relief aid to save the hungry, wounded and sick from the threat of slow death that threatens them.”
On Thursday, Israeli government spokesperson Eylon Levy had said that Israel expected the court to toss out the “spurious and specious charges.”
Israel often boycotts international tribunals and U.N. investigations, saying they are unfair and biased. But this time, it took the rare step of sending a high-level legal team — a sign of how seriously it regards the case and likely the fear that any court order to halt operations would be a major blow to the country’s international standing.
An Israeli official said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu huddled with top legal, diplomatic and security officials on Thursday in anticipation of the ruling. He said Israel is confident in its case but discussed “all scenarios.” The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was discussing confidential meetings.
Israel launched its massive air and ground assault on Gaza after Hamas militants stormed through Israeli communities on Oct. 7 killing some 1,200 people, mainly civilians, and abducting another 250.
The offensive has decimated vast swaths of the territory and driven nearly 85% of its 2.3 million people from their homes.
More than 26,000 Palestinians have been killed, the Health Ministry in the Hamas-run enclave said on Friday. The ministry does not differentiate between combatants and civilians in its death toll, but has said about two-thirds of those killed were women and children.
The Israeli military claims at least 9,000 of those killed in the nearly four-month conflict are Hamas militants.
U.N. officials have expressed fears that even more people could die from disease, with at least one-quarter of the population facing starvation.
Ahead of the ruling, Marieke de Hoon, an associate professor of international law at the University of Amsterdam, said she thought the court was unlikely to throw the case out since the legal bar South Africa has to clear at this early stage is lower than the one that would be applied for ruling on the merits of the accusation.
“The standard … is not, has there been genocide? But a lower standard,” she said. “Is it plausible that there could have been a risk of genocide that would invoke Israel’s responsibility to prevent genocide?”
But De Hoon also did not expect the world court to order an end to Israel’s military operation.
“I think that they will shy away from actually calling for a full cease-fire, because I think they will find that beyond their abilities right now,” she said in a telephone interview.
Provisional measures by the world court are legally binding, but it is not clear if Israel would comply with any order.
Top Hamas official Osama Hamdan, meanwhile, said his group would abide by a cease-fire if ordered and would be ready to release the hostages it is holding if Israel releases Palestinian prisoners.
How the U.S., Israel’s top ally, responds to any order will be key, since it wields veto power at the U.N. Security Council and thus could block measures there aimed at forcing Israel’s compliance.
The U.S. has said Israel has the right to defend itself, but also spoken about the need for the country to protect civilians in Gaza and allow more aid in.
The genocide case strikes at the national identity of Israel, which was founded as a Jewish state after the Nazi slaughter of 6 million Jews during World War II.
South Africa’s own identity is key to it bringing the case. Its governing party, the African National Congress, has long compared Israel’s policies in Gaza and the West Bank to its own history under the apartheid regime of white minority rule, which restricted most Black people to “homelands” before ending in 1994.
