The International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague ruled today that South Africa had presented a plausible case that Israel was in violation of the Genocide Convention in Gaza, that South Africa had standing before the Court, and that provisional orders to Israel were necessary to prevent more genocidal violations from occurring while the Court deliberates further. While the following six orders do not explicitly order Israel to cease all military action in Gaza, there is no way for Israel to carry out the orders of the Court and still wage their military campaign.
From the ICJ’s website, here are the six orders:
“In its Order, which has binding effect, the Court indicates the following provisional measures:
“(1) By fifteen votes to two, The State of Israel shall, in accordance with its obligations under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, in relation to Palestinians in Gaza, take all measures within its power to prevent the commission of all acts within the scope of Article II of this Convention, in particular:
“(a) killing members of the group;
“(b) causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
“(c) deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; and
“(d) imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;...
“(2) By fifteen votes to two, The State of Israel shall ensure with immediate effect that its military does not commit any acts described in point 1 above;...
“(3) By sixteen votes to one, The State of Israel shall take all measures within its power to prevent and punish the direct and public incitement to commit genocide in relation to members of the Palestinian group in the Gaza Strip;...
“(4) By sixteen votes to one, The State of Israel shall take immediate and effective measures to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance to address the adverse conditions of life faced by Palestinians in the Gaza Strip;...
“(5) By fifteen votes to two, The State of Israel shall take effective measures to prevent the destruction and ensure the preservation of evidence related to allegations of acts within the scope of Article II and Article III of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide against members of the Palestinian group in the Gaza Strip;...
“(6) By fifteen votes to two, The State of Israel shall submit a report to the Court on all measures taken to give effect to this Order within one month as from the date of this Order.”
On all six orders, Judge Julia Sebutinde from Uganda voted against. The ad hoc judge appointed by Israel, Judge Barak, also voted against on four orders. Judge Sebutinde appended a dissenting opinion, and Judge ad hoc Barak appended a separate opinion to the Order of the Court. Of special note, Judge Barak voted in favor of preventing and punishing the acts of incitement to genocide, of which Israel’s officialdom has many examples, and in favor of aid measures that effectively address the horror show in the Gaza Strip.
