Pakistan, Maldives, Malaysia welcome new ICJ ruling against Israel

By Riyaz ul Khaliq and Serdar Dincel

ISTANBUL (AA) p Pakistan, Maldives and Malaysia welcomed a new ruling Friday by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against Israel regarding the Gaza Strip.

“UN Security Council and the international community should make efforts to implement the ICJ order to stop Israeli operations in Gaza,” Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said in a statement.

Implementing the order to stop the Israeli military operations “will pave the way for peace in the world,” he said.

The ICJ amended an earlier order and demanded Israel immediately halt its military offensive in Rafah, a city in southern Gaza where Tel Aviv sent forces May 6.

“Israel must immediately hold its military offensive or any other action in the Rafah governorate which may inflict on the Palestinian group in Gaza, conditions of life that could bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part,” said ICJ President Nawaf Salam, as he read the order on additional provisional measures requested by South Africa in the genocide case against Israel.

The ICJ said the modification to its March 28 order was in view of the change in circumstances due to the offensive on Rafah, where displaced Palestinians had taken refuge from the war that started in October. According to UN agencies, more than 800,000 have since fled the city due to the ground invasion.

Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu also welcomed the ruling.
“Israel must adhere to this ruling and immediately cease the unspeakable acts of brutality in Rafah. It must also open the Rafah crossing to allow the safe passage of humanitarian aid,” Muizzu demanded.

“While this is an essential step towards peace, we believe that Palestine’s establishment as an independent and sovereign state based on the pre-1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital is the only path to lasting peace,” Muizzu wrote on X.

Malaysia's Foreign Ministry also issued a statement on the ICJ ruling.

"Malaysia strongly urges the international community to intensify pressure on Israel to comply with the additional measures, as failing to do so will only make a mockery of the sanctity of the international law," it wrote on X.

The ICJ ruling said Israel has not "sufficiently addressed and dispelled" concerns raised by its military operation in Rafah.

It also urged Israel to maintain the Rafah border crossing open for unhindered access to basic services and humanitarian assistance into Gaza.

The ICJ ordered Tel Aviv to submit a report on measures taken on the latest order within a month.

*Aamir Latif contributed to the story from Pakistan