ICJ TELLS ISRAEL TO STOP PREVENTING ‘DELIVERY OF URGENTLY NEEDED’ AID

Thu 28 March 2024:

The International Court of Justice issued new provisional measures on Gaza as part of the case brought by South Africa on the prevention of genocide, indicating that Israel must submit a report to the court on “all measures taken” to abide by the order within a month.

ICJ adopted unanimously an order requesting the unhindered provision by all parties concerned of “urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance, including food, water, electricity, fuel, shelter, clothing, hygiene and sanitation requirements, as well as medical supplies and medical care to Palestinians throughout Gaza, including by increasing the capacity and number of land crossing points and maintaining them open for as long as necessary”.

The court also adopted by 15 votes to one an order to “ensure with immediate effect that [the Israeli] military does not commit acts which constitute a violation of any of the rights of the Palestinians in Gaza as a protected group under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, including by preventing, through any action, the delivery of urgently needed humanitarian assistance”.

Ireland to intervene in South Africa genocide case against Israel

Ireland said on Wednesday it would intervene in South Africa’s genocide case against Israel, in the strongest signal to date of Dublin’s concern about Israeli operations in Gaza since Oct. 7.

Announcing the move, Foreign Minister Micheal Martin said that while it was for the World Court to decide whether genocide is being committed, he wanted to be clear that Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack and what is happening in Gaza now “represents the blatant violation of international humanitarian law on a mass scale.”

“The taking of hostages. The purposeful withholding of humanitarian assistance to civilians. The targeting of civilians and of civilian infrastructure. The indiscriminate use of explosive weapons in populated areas. The use of civilian objects for military purposes. The collective punishment of an entire population,” Martin said in a statement.

“The list goes on. It has to stop. The view of the international community is clear. Enough is enough.”

In January the International Court of Justice (ICJ), also known as the World Court, ordered Israel to refrain from any acts that could fall under the Genocide Convention and to ensure its troops commit no genocidal acts against Palestinians, after South Africa accused Israel of state-led genocide in Gaza.

Israel and its Western allies described the allegation as baseless. A final ruling in South Africa’s ICJ case in The Hague could take years.

Martin did not say what form the intervention would take or outline any argument or proposal Ireland plans to put forward.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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