The The International Court of Justice (ICJ) will announce this Friday its decision on the additional precautionary measures requested by South Africa against Israel, which includes an “immediate” withdrawal and “cessation” of their military offensive in Rafah, in the southern tip of Gaza, among other measures requested to prevent a “genocide” against the Palestinians of Gaza.
The origins of this case date back to December 29, when South Africa initiated proceedings against Israel and accused it of violating the Genocide Convention with its war in Gaza, and considered it necessary to demand, in a prior phase of the trial, that the Israeli Government take precautionary measures to avoid a genocide in the Strip.
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The ICJ concluded on January 26 that the risk of genocide against the Palestinians of Gaza was “plausible” and then indicated precautionary measures by which he asked Israel for “immediate and effective” steps to prevent this crime, and to punish any incitement to the extermination of the Palestinians, although he did not demand a “ceasefire” as South Africa had requested.
In February, given the continuing humanitarian crisis in Gaza, South Africa requested additional measures, a request that was rejected by the court.
The ICJ demanded that Israel prevent its Army from committing acts of genocide or “preventing, by any action, the delivery of urgent humanitarian assistance.”
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However, on May 10, South Africa appealed to the court again, considering that the Israeli military offensive in Rafah “amounts to a change” in the situation. Gazans fleeing the Israeli offensive in other parts of the Palestinian enclave take refuge in Rafah.
More than 35,000 people have already died in Gaza since the start of the Israeli offensive following the Hamas attack on October 7, which claimed 1,200 lives.
In its speech last Friday, Israel defended that its war in Gaza is “tragic” and has “a terrible human price,” but He denied that it was a “genocide”, and asked the court not to get involved in “the micromanagement of operational aspects of an armed conflict.”
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The measures required by the ICJ are always legally binding, although this court has no mechanisms to enforce compliance. In the past, for example, he ordered Russia to stop its invasion of Ukraine, without any effect.
An ICJ decision in favor of Pretoria would put greater pressure on Israel, days after the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan, asked the judges of this body to issue arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as against three leaders of the Palestinian movement Hamas, including political chief Ismail Haniyeh.
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