Canada expects 'everyone to follow' ICJ rulings: Prime Minister Trudeau

By Merve Aydogan

HAMILTON, Canada (AA) - Canada on Friday called for the implementation of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) order for Israel to halt its military offensive in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip.

Speaking at a news conference, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reiterated the need for an immediate “cease-fire” in the Gaza Strip.

Noting that there “must be no more military operations in Rafah by Israel," he emphasized the need for getting substantial amounts of humanitarian aid into Gaza.

"The humanitarian catastrophe is horrific. The dangers of starvation and famine are real," he said, adding that ICJ's ruling goes "exactly in that direction."

Noting that the ICJ's order is binding, Trudeau said: "We expect everyone to follow them as a matter of international law."

He drew attention to the "extraordinarily difficult challenges in the Middle East" and said the only solution is a two-state solution.

"Unfortunately, the (Benjamin) Netanyahu government is creating barriers and blockages to ever being able to create or even imagine that two-state solution. That is where we fundamentally disagree with the Netanyahu government even as we continue to support the rights of the State of Israel and also the aspirations of the Palestinian people," he said.