Israel must end military operations in Gaza to implement top UN court ruling, say experts

By Selman Aksunger

THE HAGUE (AA) - Israel must end its military operations to implement the decisions of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which has already issued an interim order in a genocide case, according to experts on Tuesday.

On Friday, the UN court found South Africa's claim that Israel is committing genocide plausible. The court issued an interim order urging Israel to stop obstructing aid deliveries to Gaza and improve the humanitarian situation.

Despite the decisions calling for a halt to attacks against Palestinians, Israel continues its attacks on the Gaza Strip and does not take the necessary steps to ensure that humanitarian aid reaches civilians.

Luigi Daniele, an academic at Nottingham Trent University in the UK, told Anadolu that it was "groundbreaking" for the top UN court to rule that South Africa had reasonably proven its allegations of violation of the Genocide Convention against Israel.

“The court found that it was a reasonable fact that a genocide was being committed in Gaza. It decided that irreparable harm could occur to Palestinian civilians and this was an imminent danger. For this reason, it ruled on interim decisions,” Daniele said.

- ‘Complete defeat for Israel’

Stressing that the decision was a “complete defeat” for Israel, he said Israel's lawyers claimed the use of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide in this case was completely unfounded. "None of their claims have been accepted at this stage,” he added.

Israel should clearly prevent its army from committing genocide, especially as a precaution, which means ending Israel's military operations, according to the expert.

“Given that the Israeli army has killed tens of thousands of civilians, mostly women and children, it seems imperative that Israel must end this military operation aimed at completely destroying Gaza in order to truly refrain from the actions prohibited by the court,” he added.

Underlining the importance of the decision, which was taken with an almost unanimous majority, he said this situation shows that Israel's accusations and pressures are ineffective.

Daniele added that cutting funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) by some countries means acting contrary to the court decision and that other Western countries joining Israel are also acting against their obligation to "prevent genocide."

Tel Aviv has alleged that some of the agency’s employees were involved in the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel, pushing at least 12 countries to suspend their funds to the agency.

UNRWA employs over 13,000 people in Gaza. About a dozen are accused by Israel of participation in the attack. The agency said it terminated contracts with several employees following the allegations.

At least 12 countries – Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Canada, Finland, Australia, the UK, Netherlands, the US, France, Austria and Japan – have suspended funds for UNRWA, which was established in 1949 to aid Palestinian refugees across the Middle East.

- 'International Criminal Court prosecutor should seriously consider ruling'

Ata Hindi, an academic at Tulane University in the US, said the ICJ's decision was an important victory in the Palestinians’ search for justice.

“The court rejected Israel's request to dismiss the case. Moreover, it found that there was a plausible case of genocide and emphasized that Israel should provide access to humanitarian aid to eliminate the disaster it created in the Gaza Strip,” he said, adding that there is more work to be done to ensure justice and accountability.

Israel must take all measures to prevent acts of genocide, he said, adding that there is no other way for Israel to fulfill these obligations other than a complete cessation of its military operations.

For those countries supporting Israel, he said third states also have obligations to prevent and punish genocide, and they became partners in war crimes and crimes against humanity.

“The International Criminal Court prosecutor should seriously consider the decision of the court and take action, including the investigation and prosecution of the crime of genocide,” he added.

Israel launched a deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip following a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7, killing at least 26,751 Palestinians and injuring 65,636. Nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.

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.

*Writing by Gozde Bayar in Ankara