The International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Friday ordered Israel to implement a set of provisional measures aimed at preventing the genocide of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
On Jan. 26. the ICJ had ordered Israel to “take all measures within its power” to prevent breaches of the Genocide Convention in the Gaza Strip.
The original order followed proceedings initiated by South Africa and issued a number of provisional measures. Friday’s decision came in response to a February 12 appeal by South Africa for the court to take measures to quell the violence that has engulfed the Gaza Strip in recent months. The court declined to issue additional provisional measures, but emphasized its expectation that Israel would comply with its legal obligation to implement the court-ordered provisional measures.
The case was initiated by South Africa last month, in a complaint accusing Israel of having violated the Genocide Convention. “The acts and omissions by Israel complained of by South Africa are genocidal in character because they are intended to bring about the destruction of a substantial part of the Palestinian national, racial, and ethnical group … in the Gaza Strip,” South Africa alleged in its complaint.
In particular, South Africa accused Israel of killing tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza, causing serious mental and bodily harm, causing the forced evacuation and displacement of some 85 percent of the population in the Gaza Strip, failing to provide adequate humanitarian protections, causing widespread dehydration and starvation, and imposing measures intended to prevent Palestinian births in the region, according to the complaint.
Source link
