The International Court of Justice (ICJ) will hold sessions this January 11 and 12 on the precautionary measures requested by South Africa against Israel, whom he accuses of raping Gaza the Genocide Conventiona case that comes a month before the start of hearings on the legal consequences of the policies Israelis in Palestine.
Israel's actions are the only two cases that have a hearing date on the calendar of the highest court of the United Nations, based in The Hague. The ICJ also welcomes the February 19 hearings on “the legal consequences arising from Israel's policies and practices in the occupied Palestinian territory.”
They are two different cases in content, but they have the same protagonist: Israel. While the South African case is based on the humanitarian tragedy in Gaza and the verdict is binding, the second focuses on the circumstances of the occupation and will lead to the issuance of a non-binding legal opinion.
Both are totally independent of the investigation being carried out by the International Criminal Court (ICC), a court also in The Hague, but with jurisdiction separate from the UN Court, and based on a different treaty, the Rome Statute, by which individuals are tried for international crimes. The ICJ resolves disputes between States.
Israeli positions along the border with the Gaza Strip.
South Africa's case
On December 29, South Africa requested urgent precautionary measures to “protect against further, serious and irreparable damage to the rights of the Palestinian people” in the offensive against Gaza, which has claimed the lives of some 22,000 Palestiniansand which followed the attack of the Islamist group Hamas on October 7 against Israel, which left 1,200 dead.
“Israel's acts and omissions are of a genocidal nature because they aim to bring about the destruction of a substantial part of the Palestinian national, racial and ethnic group: the part of the Palestinian group in the Gaza Strip,” Johannesburg explained.
Furthermore, he stressed that “all these acts are attributable to Israel, which has not prevented the genocide and is committing it in clear violation” of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, approved in 1948 and with the Nazi crimes and the Jewish Holocaust as a backdrop. It is in force in 152 countries, including Israel.
South Africa asked the ICJ for measures to “ensure Israel's compliance with its obligations under the Convention”, something that Tel Aviv called “absurd defamation” and promised to defend itself against accusations of a “devil's defender” and “criminal accomplice.” ” of Hamas, in the words of Eylon Levy, spokesperson for the Israeli Government.
The upcoming hearings will only focus on precautionary measures, not whether Israel is violating the Convention, and given the periods defined by the ICJ statutes, the case could take years to reach a verdict that, despite being legally binding, the The court has no tools to enforce it and depends on Israel's willingness to respect the ruling.
Israeli soldiers fire mortar fire from an area near the border with the Gaza Strip.
The case of occupation
In February, The ICJ will deal with the legal consequences of the Israeli occupation of Palestine. The UN General Assembly asked him in 2022 an advisory opinion based on the rules and principles of, among others, the UN Charter, international humanitarian law, and Security Council resolutions.
“What are the legal consequences arising from Israel's continued violation of the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, from its prolonged occupation, settlement and annexation of the occupied Palestinian territory since 1967, including measures aimed at altering the demographic composition, character and status of the Holy City of Jerusalem, and its adoption of discriminatory laws and measures?” asked the Assembly.
Furthermore, it was questioned: “How do Israel's policies and practices (…) affect the legal status of the occupation, and what are the legal consequences that arise from that status for all States and the United Nations?”
The last time the ICJ issued an advisory opinion on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was in 2004, when it confirmed the illegality of the separation wall.
Israel took control of the West Bank and East Jerusalem in 1967, and maintains a military occupation of this Palestinian territory.
Palestinians defend their right to self-determination and the return of their refugees, while Jewish settlements in the West Bank grow, accompanied by harassment, attacks and displacement of Palestinians, with the connivance of Israeli forces.
EFE
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