The ICJ Has Ordered Israel To Immediately Stop Its Attack On Rafah In A New Legally Binding Ruling
The court ordered Israel to “immediately halt its military offensive, and any other action in the Rafah Governorate, which may inflict on the Palestinian group in Gaza conditions of life that could bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part."
In a new ruling, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has ordered Israel to immediately halt its attacks on Rafah in southern Gaza.
The verdict on Friday, May 24, comes after South Africa returned to the world court in The Hague, the Netherlands, to stop its Israel's military campaign on Rafah and to “do what it can to stop the genocide”, which it said had almost “knocked Gaza off the map” and “shocked the conscience of humanity”.
In hearings on May 16 and 17, South Africa and Israel each had two hours to make their case on the former's new request for emergency measures over Israel’s war on Gaza.
In its new ruling, which is legally binding, the court noted that the "catastrophic" humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip had worsened since it issued its previous order in January, adding that the situation is now characterized as "disastrous".
The court ordered Israel to “immediately halt its military offensive, and any other action in the Rafah Governorate, which may inflict on the Palestinian group in Gaza conditions of life that could bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part."
It also ordered Israel to open the Rafah crossing to allow essential humanitarian aid to enter the Strip, as well as let investigative bodies to enter to investigate allegations of genocide.
Finally, it ordered Israel to provide a report in one month about its progress in adhering to the court's new order.
Although the ICJ's orders are legally binding, it has no way of enforcing them.
Minutes after the ruling, reports emerged of new Israeli air raids in Rafah, Al Jazeera reported.
“The charges of genocide brought by South Africa against Israel at the International Court of Justice in the Hague are false, outrageous and morally repugnant,” Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government said in response to the ruling.
It added that its military has not and will not target civilians.
Israel invaded Rafah on May 7, days after ordering the more than 1.4 million Palestinians it had pushed there to evacuate again, saying that the southern city was home to the last Hamas battalions it needs to destroy.
Israel then announced that it had taken control of and raised its flag at the Rafah border crossing, blocking the already tiny sliver of much-needed humanitarian aid from entering.
Since then, nearly 800,000 Palestinians – almost half the population of Gaza – have been forced to evacuate again from Rafah, according to the United Nations.
They have been forced to move to areas such as Al-Mawassi, a sandy 14 square kilometer agricultural land with no buildings or roads, where more than 400,000 Palestinians were already seeking shelter.
Cherry Mohamed
Cherry Mohamed
Kassy Cho
