The International Court of Justice (ICJ) of the UN has described the acts of Israel in Loop since October 7 as possible genocide. He has issued provisional measures, but has refused, as requested by South Africa’s lawsuit against Israel, to order the end of the Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip. The resolution is extraordinary for the panorama it exposes to the world: the devastation, humanitarian crisis and mass deaths of women and children as a result of the Israel offensive after the Hamas attack on October 7 in Israeli territory, which left around 1,200 civilians and soldiers dead. But the measures leave it in the hands of the alleged genocidaire – Israel – genocide prevention.
The provisional measures, as declared Richard Falkthe last of the United Nations rapporteurs for the occupied territories, can “now lead to a tug-of-war over what is fulfilled and what is not fulfilled.”
But Benjamin Netanyahu has achieved one of its fundamental objectives when it declared on January 13 that “not even The Hague will stop us in Gaza”, namely, the Court has not ordered a stop to the human and material carnage carried out by the Israeli Armed Forces (IDF) at least since October 7, 2023 in an open manner,
“Is he genocide most transparent in human history” Falk explained. Precisely, the presentation made by the Government of Israel on January 12, 2024 in The Hague was based on an argument: the Israeli Army bases all its military actions on permanent legal advice. According to them, each important action is consulted by the military leaders with lawyers who are experts in international military legislation.
Therefore, there is a deliberate plan in which it is assumed that the devastation and deaths of the civilian population are “collateral damage.” given that, as they have explained, Hamas is an “embedded” organization; in the civilian population, in hospitals, private homes, mosques and UN centers.
Precautionary measures
In its order, the ICJ requires Israel to apply six precautionary measures. The first is that “it adopts measures to not kill Palestinians”; the second, that “adopt measures so that military actions do not incur acts of genocide”; that “direct and public incitement to the genocide of the Palestinians be prevented and punished”; any direct and public incitement to commit genocide in Gaza must be prevented and punished; “take measures to prevent the destruction of evidence that can be used to prove genocide”; “take measures to access the humanitarian needs of the population of Gaza”; “submit a report to the Court within one month of issuing the order.”
That is to say; those to whom acts are attributed that “possibly” (this is the preliminary phase of the lawsuit in The Hague) committed are given the opportunity to contain or self-amend their allegedly genocidal conduct.
Solomonic ruling
Legal sources indicate that perhaps the reason for having ignored South Africa’s main provisional request, to stop the war immediately to prevent the genocide from taking place, is due to the alleged search for “balance.” or “Solomonic ruling” of the court. That is to say: since Hamas fires rockets on Israeli territory, and Hamas is not a party to the procedure, the Court has avoided an order that would require Israel alone to paralyze the military action immediately.
While the court issued its order, Israeli attacks have caused a large number of deaths in Gaza. Thirty days mean more than 1,000 deaths, half of them women and children,
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The Court’s measures could have worked immediately after October 7 as a preventive measure. A part of the genocide has already occurred. It was about preventing its progress and consummation.
And it is precisely what the Court has avoided.