ICJ Orders ‘Israel’ to Immediately Halt Offensive on Rafah

In a momentous emergency verdict on South Africa’s complaint accusing “Israel” of genocide, judges at the United Nation’s highest court, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), ordered “Israel” to immediately halt its military assault on Rafah in southern Gaza on Friday.

Nawaf Salam, president of the ICJ, read out the verdict, stating that the situation in Gaza has deteriorated since the court’s last injunction to “Israel” to remedy it.

Salam stated that the occupation shall “immediately halt its military offensive and 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.”

“Israel had not provided sufficient information about the safety of the population during the evacuation process, or the availability of food, water, sanitation and medicine for the 800,000 Palestinians that had already fled Rafah so far,” Salam said, adding, “Consequently, the court is of the view that Israel has not sufficiently addressed and dispelled the concerns raised by its military offensive in Rafah.”

The court also ordered the occupation to open the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza so that humanitarian supplies may enter, as well as to enable access to the besieged enclave for investigators and to report back on its progress within one month.

The ruling was accepted by a panel of 15 judges from throughout the world in a 13-2 vote, with only Ugandan and Israeli justices opposing it.

The ruling was issued a week after being requested by South Africa as part of “Israel’s” genocide charges. Outside, a small group of pro-Palestinian protesters waved flags and protested demanding a free Palestine. 

“Israel” has repeatedly denied the allegations, maintaining that its onslaught in Gaza is aimed at eliminating Hamas fighters, even though it has killed over 35,800 Palestinians and injured 80,011 others. 

An Israeli government spokesperson on Thursday stated that “no power on Earth” will stop “Israel”.

“Israel’s” invasion of Rafah is the “last step” in destroying Gaza, a lawyer for South Africa told the UN top court recently. 

South Africa’s urgent order

South Africa requested on May 10 that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) order to halt military operations in Gaza, and Rafah, in particular, ensuring the withdrawal of Israeli occupation forces from Rafah as part of measures to prevent genocide in Gaza in its ongoing lawsuit against “Israel”. 

The published ICJ filings revealed that South Africa asked the court to order “Israel’s” complete withdrawal from Rafah, the “last refuge” for the people of Gaza, as well as the allowance of unrestricted access to UN officials, organizations, journalists, investigators, and humanitarian aid into the Strip. 

South Africa reiterated that “Israel” is killing Palestinian civilians while starving them by blocking humanitarian aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip. “Those who have survived so far are facing imminent death now, and an order from the Court is needed to ensure their survival,” South Africa said in its filing. 

It is worth noting that the ICJ failed to charge “Israel” with genocide but imposed a set of anti-genocide measures the occupation blatantly neglected.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed his “disgust” on Monday after the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Karim Khan applied for arrest warrants against him and Security Minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes in Gaza.

“I reject with disgust The Hague prosecutor’s comparison between democratic Israel and the mass murderers of Hamas,” Netanyahu said.

The charges against Netanyahu and Gallant include “willful killing”, “extermination and/or murder,” and “starvation”, and though all that is true due to what is being seen on the ground in Gaza, Netanyahu linked the ICC’s actions to ongoing protests against the Israeli crimes in Gaza on US university campuses, describing them as a manifestation of “new anti-Semitism”.

According to Axios, the recent filing of applications for arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is going to further isolate “Israel” globally and put further pressure on the Biden administration to coerce Netanyahu to end the slaughter in Gaza. It might also prompt Congress to pass legislation against the International Criminal Court.