Ireland expects Israel to implement UN court ruling

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - Ireland’s foreign minister on Friday welcomed a ruling of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Israel’s onslaught on Gaza, and said that his country expects Tel Aviv to implement the order.

"I strongly welcome the Court’s orders which are final and binding. These are measures that Ireland has been consistently calling for from the start of this conflict," Micheal Martin said in a statement.

Noting that the ICJ is one of the cornerstones of the international rules-based system, he said that Ireland has a “deep and longstanding commitment” to international law.

"We expect Israel to implement all provisional measures that have been ordered by the Court, in good faith and as a matter of urgency," he said.

The ICJ ordered Israel to take "all measures within its power" to prevent acts of genocide in Gaza, but fell short of ordering a cease-fire.

Reminding that the court has not called for a cease-fire, however, Martin pointed out that it has ordered Israel not to commit any acts of genocide, and "importantly has ordered Israel to take immediate and effective measures to ensure urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance are provided in Gaza."

"As I have repeatedly made clear, bringing about an end to this conflict and to the death and destruction in Gaza is a priority that must be pursued on all fronts – political, diplomatic, humanitarian and legal," he said.

Reiterating that today’s orders relate to a specific case under the Genocide Convention, Martin stressed that it must be ensured that all parties to this conflict are held to account for their actions.

"The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court is continuing to investigate all serious allegations of crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in and from Gaza, whether committed by Israel or by Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, or other non-state armed groups," the foreign minister added.

Israel has launched relentless air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by Hamas which Tel Aviv says killed 1,200 people.

At least 26,083 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and 64,487 injured, according to Palestinian health authorities.

The Israeli offensive has left 85% of Gaza’s population internally displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure was damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.