On video: South Africa accuses Israel of apartheid: "intentional genocide" 11.01.24/Reuters
The bottom line regarding the decision made today in The Hague is this: the International Court of Justice did not issue an order obliging Israel to stop the war.
This is good news, but aside from this fact, there is something to worry about.
The tribunal has issued orders obliging Israel to provide humanitarian aid to Gaza, to act against incitement to genocide, to punish instigators and to submit to the tribunal a report on all the actions Israel has taken within a month from today.
Although the very obligation to report shows that the tribunal accepts Israel's reliability, on the other hand, this may limit the IDF, and puts Israel under a magnifying glass. This means that any action taken now in Gaza will be scrutinized doubly harshly.
The judges at the Bug Court, January 26, 2023/Reuters
Today, the court quoted a number of statements by Israeli ministers and politicians.
Jonan Donahue, the president of the tribunal who read the decision in English, quoted the words of Defense Minister Yoav Galant and said: "Galant ordered the opening of a complete siege on Gaza and said there would be no electricity, food, fuel and that everything would be closed."
Another quote from his words: "I removed all restrictions, you saw who we are fighting against. We are fighting animals, the ISIS of Gaza. Gaza will not return to what it was, there will be no Hamas, we will destroy everything. If it doesn't take a day, it will take a week, months. We will reach all the places'".
These things have a different importance, as it sharpens the fact that due to the irresponsible words of politicians, Israel may be punished in the international arena.
A senior source in the government's legal advisory system told Walla!: "The result today is reasonable compared to what we feared it might be. Although the court's rhetoric was very harsh, and it will affect public opinion in the world and pressure to end the war, but we came out in the best possible way under the circumstances. This is still a matter of difficult circumstances."
Another point worth paying attention to - this Wednesday the International Court of Justice will publish its decision regarding the war that Russia started against Ukraine.
In this context, Israel does not want to be remembered as Russia will be remembered during this period."
More on the same topic:
Gaza war
War of Iron Swords