News desk TTP
The International Court of Justice (ICJ), the UN’s top court, on Friday asked Israel to take measures to prevent and punish the incitement of genocide in its ongoing war in Gaza.
The ICJ issued a preliminary ruling in response to a case filed by South Africa, which accused Israel of violating the Genocide Convention in its military campaign against the Palestinian enclave.
The court said it has jurisdiction to hear the case and will not dismiss it, as requested by Israel.
The court ordered Israel to take “all measures within its power” to ensure that its military forces do not commit any acts that could amount to genocide, such as killing, causing serious harm, inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about physical destruction, or imposing measures intended to prevent births within the Palestinian group.
The court also ordered Israel to prevent and punish the direct and public incitement of genocide against the Palestinians, and to ensure the provision of humanitarian aid to Gaza.
The court said it was “gravely concerned” about the situation in Gaza, where more than 100,000 Palestinians have been killed and millions displaced since Israel launched its offensive on October 7, following a cross-border attack by Hamas militants that killed over 1,200 Israelis and took 240 hostages.
The court said it will continue to monitor the situation and will issue a final judgment on the merits of the case in due course.
The ICJ’s rulings are binding and final, but it has no means of enforcing them.
Israel has rejected the accusation of genocide and said it is acting in self-defense and targeting Hamas, not the Palestinian civilians.
Israel has also indicated that it will not comply with the court’s order and will continue its war in Gaza until it secures the release of its hostages and the elimination of Hamas.
“Nobody will stop us – not The Hague, not the axis of evil and not anybody else,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wrote on X.
South Africa has welcomed the court’s ruling and said it hopes it will pave the way for a peaceful resolution of the conflict and the protection of human rights in Gaza.
South Africa and Israel are both parties to the Genocide Convention, which obliges them not to commit, incite, or tolerate genocide, and to prevent and punish it.
