The United Nations' top court on Friday ordered Israel to immediately halt its military operations in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, but stopped short of ordering a complete ceasefire. Although Israel is unlikely to comply with the order, it will increase pressure on the increasingly isolated country.
Criticism of Israel's conduct in the war in Gaza has been growing, particularly over the attacks in Rafah, and even from its closest ally, the United States. Just this week, three European countries announced they would recognize a Palestinian state, and the chief prosecutor of another UN court sought arrest warrants for Israeli leaders, along with Hamas officials.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is also under strong domestic pressure to end the war, which was triggered when Hamas-led militants swept into Israel, killing 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and taking about 250 captive. Thousands of Israelis have joined weekly demonstrations calling on the government to reach a deal to bring the hostages home, fearing time is running out.
While the ruling by the International Court of Justice is a blow to Israel's international standing, the court does not have a police force to enforce its orders. In another case on its docket, Russia has so far ignored a 2022 court order to stop its large-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Before the ruling, Israel signaled that it would also ignore an ICJ order to halt its operations. “No power on earth will stop Israel from protecting its citizens and pursuing Hamas in Gaza,” government spokesman Avi Hyman said at a news conference Thursday.
Chief Justice Nawaf Salam read the ruling as a small group of pro-Palestinian protesters demonstrated outside.
Fears about an operation in Rafah have “materialized,” the ruling said, and “the humanitarian situation must now be described as disastrous.”
The court also ordered Israel to keep the Rafah crossing into Egypt open “for the unimpeded and large-scale provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance.”
The court did not call for a complete ceasefire throughout Gaza as South Africa, which brought the case, had requested in hearings last week.
The ceasefire request is part of a case filed late last year accusing Israel of committing genocide during its campaign in Gaza. Israel vehemently denies the accusations. The case will take years to resolve, but South Africa wants interim orders to protect Palestinians while the legal dispute continues.
The court ruled Friday that Israel must guarantee access to any fact-finding or fact-finding mission sent by the United Nations to investigate allegations of genocide.
In public hearings last week at the International Court of Justice, South Africa's ambassador to the Netherlands, Vusimuzi Madonsela, urged the panel of 15 international judges to order Israel to “fully and unconditionally withdraw” from the Gaza Strip.
The court has already determined that Israel's military operations pose a “real and imminent risk” to the Palestinian people in Gaza.
Israel's offensive has killed more than 35,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians. The operation has destroyed entire neighborhoods, forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes and pushed parts of the territory into famine.
“This could well be the last chance for the court to act,” Irish lawyer Blinne Ní Ghrálaigh, who is part of South Africa's legal team, told judges last week.
Israel rejects the claims of South Africa, a nation with historical ties to the Palestinian people.
“Israel takes extraordinary measures to minimize harm to civilians in Gaza,” Tamar Kaplan-Tourgeman, a member of Israel's legal team, told the court last week.
In January, ICJ judges ordered Israel to do everything possible to prevent death, destruction and any acts of genocide in Gaza, but the panel stopped short of ordering an end to the military offensive. In a second order in March, the court said Israel must take steps to improve the humanitarian situation.
The ICJ decides disputes between nations. A few miles away, the International Criminal Court is bringing charges against people it deems most responsible for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.
On Monday, its chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, said he had asked ICC judges to approve arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and three senior Hamas leaders (Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif and Ismail Haniyeh) for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip and Israel.
Israel is not a member of the ICC, so even if arrest warrants are issued, Netanyahu and Gallant face no immediate risk of prosecution. But the threat of arrest could make it difficult for Israeli leaders to travel abroad.
Corder writes for the Associated Press.
