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UN Court orders Israel to ‘prevent genocide’, Israel rejects ‘outrageous’ judgment

The ICJ also demanded that humanitarian assistance be allowed into Gaza

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued its first ruling on South Africa’s case against Israel on Friday, ordering the Jewish state to take all necessary actions to prevent genocide in Gaza. The court did not, however, order Israel to cease its military operation against Hamas.

A panel of 17 judges agreed that the court, based in The Hague, has jurisdiction to hear South Africa’s case, and passed seven “emergency measures” requested by Pretoria. In addition to demanding that Israel refrain from committing genocide, the judges ordered the Jewish state to punish members of its military who commit genocidal acts, as well as officials who publicly call for the genocide of the Palestinians. Israel must also preserve evidence of any genocidal acts already committed, the ruling stated.

The judges also ruled that Israel “shall take immediate and effective measures to address adverse conditions to life in the Gaza Strip.” West Jerusalem was further ordered to report back to the court in a month with an update on what it is doing to comply with these measures.

The ruling falls short of South Africa’s full list of demands, which included a measure ordering Israel to “immediately suspend its military operations in and against Gaza.”

However, it also comes as a blow to Israel, which demanded that the court throw out the entire case, describing it as “spurious and specious.”

While the ICJ’s rulings are final and legally binding, the court lacks any method of enforcing them. Nevertheless, the Palestinian Foreign Ministry hailed Friday’s verdict as an “important reminder” that no state is above the law.

South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor said on Friday that her country’s aim was “to highlight the plight of the innocent in Palestine” and “draw attention to the lack of justice and freedom.” Regardless of how the case plays out, Pandor told Ubuntu Radio that Pretoria has already achieved these goals.

South Africa lodged its case in late December, arguing that Israel was breaching the UN Genocide Convention by “killing Palestinians in Gaza, causing them serious bodily and mental harm, and inflicting on them conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction.”

Hamas fighters attacked Israel on October 7, killing around 1,200 people and taking nearly 250 to Gaza as hostages. Israel responded by declaring war on the Palestinian militant group and placing Gaza under a near-total siege. After three weeks of aerial bombardment, Israeli ground forces entered the enclave in late October, where they remain engaged in combat with Hamas.

The Israeli operation has killed more than 26,000 Palestinians, roughly two-thirds of whom were women and children, according to the latest figures from the Gaza Health Ministry. Around 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure has been destroyed and a quarter of its population are starving and unable to access drinking water, according to a UN report published earlier this month.

Israel rejects ‘outrageous’ ICJ ruling

The Israeli government has brushed off a ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordering it to prevent the genocide of the Palestinian people. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that the very claim that Israeli is committing genocide is “not only false, it’s outrageous.”

The Hague-based court ruled on Friday that “the state of Israel shall take all measures to prevent the commission of genocide to Gaza,” punish any members of its military who commit genocidal acts, punish all public calls by officials for genocide, and immediately allow more humanitarian aid into the Palestinian enclave.

The court ruled that South Africa may pursue its genocide case against Israel, but stopped short of demanding that the predominantly Jewish country “immediately suspend its military operations in and against Gaza,” as Pretoria had requested.

While South Africa described the court’s decision as a “decisive victory for the international rule of law,” the first official comment from West Jerusalem was one of scorn.

“Hague schmague,” Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir posted on X after the verdict was announced. A member of the hardline ‘Jewish Power’ party, Ben-Gvir caused international controversy last month when he declared that Israel should “encourage the wilful emigration” of Gaza’s population to other countries, a statement that was widely seen as a call for ethnic cleansing.

In a statement shortly after Ben-Gvir’s post, Netanyahu welcomed the court’s decision not to order a ceasefire, stating that “Like every country, Israel has a basic right to defend itself.”

However, “the mere claim that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians is not only false, it’s outrageous, and the willingness of the court to even discuss this is a disgrace that will not be erased for generations,” Netanyahu continued.

The Israeli leader promised that he would not allow any of his soldiers or military commanders “to be hauled before the International Criminal Court in the Hague.”

The ICJ lacks the power to enforce its rulings, meaning that any judgement in the genocide case will ultimately be symbolic.

Hamas fighters attacked Israel on October 7, killing around 1,200 people and taking nearly 250 to Gaza as hostages. Israel responded by declaring war on the Palestinian militant group and placing Gaza under a near-total siege.

The Israeli operation has left more than 26,000 Palestinians dead, roughly two-thirds of whom were women and children, according to the latest figures from the Gaza Health Ministry. Around 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure has been destroyed and a quarter of its population are starving and unable to access drinking water, according to a UN report published earlier this month.

South Africa lodged its case in late December, arguing that Israel was breaching the UN Genocide Convention by “killing Palestinians in Gaza, causing them serious bodily and mental harm, and inflicting on them conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction.”

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Source:RT News

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15 COMMENTS

    • Let’s be fair here: First and foremost Palestine people want to live their lives under the tenets of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness as normal people would want to, three unalienable rights which have been given to all humans by their Creator, if you are one of those normal people.
      What some jack**** politicians want their people to engage in is a matter for psychotherapists.
      Or executioners.
      And for the UN…where should we start? Maybe how the UN was created in the first place…and by whom?
      And quazzi….please come back constructively, because otherwise I will not engage with you, which I would regret, because i quite like most of your quirky comms.

      • Nope, you’ll get nothing constructive from me unfortunately. I is what I is and I am what I am 🤷🏼‍♂️

        I don’t believe the Palestinians are the peaceful, life liberty and the pursuit of happiness junkies you think they are. I’ve seen the propaganda that gets broadcast throughout that country (up to and including their kindergartens). I saw the attacks in October last year. I’ve heard their “from the river to the sea” chants. The hate the Jews, they want them wiped off of the face of the earth, and they make no apology for it. And fair enough, I can understand. They’ve been fighting each other since genesis (the book, not the band). And NO, I certainly don’t believe Israel are 100% innocent, but I don’t believe they’re 100% to blame either. BOTH sides are right and BOTH sides are wrong simultaneously. It’s war bro, there are never any winners.

        I’m neither Muslim nor Jew, it’s not my country and it’s not my war. But it IS my eyes and ears being bombarded with one-sided reporting, annoyingly stupid takes from poorly educated Uni students and political stunts like this one from South Africa (one of the most corrupt governments on earth BTW). So yeah, when all the very same people who are always wrong about everything from Trump to Transgenderism to climate change to “safe and effective” are continually screaming, “Israel is to blame for everything” at me, I tend not to listen to them.

        I don’t mind if you don’t engage, I’m not trying to win any arguments here. Just pointing out the absurdity of a group of people openly calling for genocide having their opponents charged with calling for genocide.

        • Your comment is worthless, because you do not distinguish between government (Hamas) and the people they take hostage (Palestinians), of which half are underage.
          A similar situation exists atm with the Israel deep state, who has allowed October 7th to happen in order to wage war.
          Name one people who does not favour to live in peace. It’s always the psychopaths at the top who drag peoples into war. They own the propaganda media outlets, secret service, weapons, police, jurisdiction.

          • No, my comment refers specifically to the governments of those countries, not the individual citizens. I should have clarified maybe, but I assumed it was obvious since these are all government actions we’re talking about. I’m sure no one thinks Abdulla’s kebab stand took Israel to the ICC.

            It’s just a catch-all term, easier to type “Israel” than “the government of Israel” every time, that’s all. I strongly agree with the points made above about jack*ss politicians and the UN.

            I’ve always believed the politicians who start all these endless wars should be the ones to strap on rifles and IED’s and go fight one another in a field while the innocent citizens watch (although we know that’ll never happen).

            Having said that though, I’ve seen MANY internet clips of civilians on both sides calling for their enemies to be eradicated, so again this premise you’re trying to create of peace-loving, weed-smoking, happy go lucky jihadists isn’t logical.

            Again, this is war. Innocent people and guilty people alike get swept up in it, men and women and children and grandparents. It’s absolutely terrible, I don’t dispute that. We agree totally.

            I’m just rejecting the constant assertion that one side is to blame for everything while the other side have done no wrong. That isn’t an analysis, that’s propaganda. If the roles were reversed and Israel had laid the charges, I’d be making the same point.

  1. Romans 2:14 For when the Ethnos, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:
    J*ws masquerading as Israel
    Only ELOHEEM come under the Law

  2. The UN is a toothless organisation that interferes and adds no value. The irony is that it’s Genocide when the Jews do it, but not when Hamas do it during a music festival. I encourage the UN to remove their rose coloured spectacles.

    • Rob, your input is appreciated, but you need to research WHY October 7th was happening to the most secure border in all the world, backed by the most ‘sophisticated’ surveillance systems in the world.
      The IDF even moved units away from the border just days/hours before the ‘attack’.
      Make no mistake, THEY -as throughout 270+ history- support both/many sides to get to their harvest.
      Hamas is a creation of Israhell.
      Do I really have to spell out who THEY are?
      Well, here is the spelling:
      A MOST IMPORTANT book; probably THE most important book to explain what is planned since a loooong time and is unfolding right now:
      https://thegreattaking.com/

      And if one is too busy reading this short free book, one can watch a video:
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dk3AVceraTI
      Should be mandatory viewing for every human!

  3. Been wild watching so many freedom loving conservatives/sovereigntists falling over themselves to back Israel and the people with the funny hats over this.
    Just because the leftie libtards disagree with you doesn’t make them always wrong.

  4. Palestine does not call for the genocide of all jews. That is just total bs. So you can’t call out Israel literally committing genocide in Gaza(70% of Palestinian deaths are women and children – so not combatants, and they have essentially demolished half the populations homes, businesses, schools, universities and places of worship and are denying humanitarian aid into Gaza), because of the lies you believe about October 7. Israel lies about killing their own on October 7, so how many of the deaths they say Hamas committed were actually done by them.

    They would rather kill the hostages than have them talk. Their army is rigging civilian structures for demolition. 24 of them died when the explosives they were rigging were set off and collapsed the buildings. They use their most powerful bombs(2000lb) on Khan Unis where they told Palestinians was a safe zone.

    What Israel is doing is disgusting.

  5. Isn’t it rich that that the UN is huffy with the Israeli’s response to the genocide carried out by Hamas but totally ignored Pol Pots Khmer Rouge slaughter of millions of Cambodians. The UN has lost any form of credibility in my book.

    • It’s an evil organisation, no doubt. An international mafia/cartel that fancies itself a world government.

      Same as all the other globalist organisations (WEF, WHO etc). Basically if everything with the word “world” in the title was abolished tomorrow, about 90% of humanity’s problems would be solved.

  6. Hot off the press.
    A United Nations agency’s alleged involvement in the October 7 terror attacks in Israel has led to widespread decisions to cut funding.

    The United Kingdom, Canada and other key Western powers have joined the United States in cutting funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for Palestine Refugees in the Near East after 12 employees were accused of being “involved” in the attack.
    I rest my case.

    Germany, Italy, Australia, Finland, Netherlands and Switzerland have also joined the boycott following the accusations, which have already resulted in the termination of multiple staffers.

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