San Francisco (National Times) The International Court of Justice issued additional measures Thursday amending and strengthening its January order that Israel do more to prevent the killing of civilians in Gaza. The United Nations’ highest court said the new orders were based on reports that conditions in Gaza have “deteriorated,” with Palestinians in the enclave facing famine.
In its new order, the ICJ judges unanimously called for Israel to “take all necessary and effective measures” to ensure the provision of basic services and humanitarian assistance to Palestinians in Gaza, including by increasing the capacity of land-crossing points for aid. The provision of food, water, medical supplies and care, hygiene, electricity, shelter, fuel must be “unhindered” and “at scale,” the order said.
In a separate measure of the order, on a vote of 15 to 1 the judges called for Israel to ensure that its military “does not commit acts which constitute a violation” of the rights of Palestinians in Gaza as a protected group under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. That includes by ensuring humanitarian assistance is not blocked, it added. Israeli Justice Aharon Barak, an ad hoc judge appointed by Israel to sit on the case, voted against.
Barak also dissented on an otherwise unanimous clause calling on Israel to submit a report to the Court within one month on measures taken to abide by the new ICJ order.
South Africa first accused Israel of committing and failing to prevent acts of genocide in December. The following month, the court issued a ruling ordering Israel to do more to prevent civilian deaths in Gaza, allow more aid into the enclave and prevent the possibility of genocide — but stopped short of calling for a cease-fire. The order did not include a verdict on the allegations of genocide. Israel rejected the allegations, and called South Africa’s case “grossly distorted.”
South Africa on March 6 issued an urgent request that the ICJ apply additional measures on Israel amid “new facts and changes in the situation in Gaza — particularly the situation of widespread starvation.” It alleged that Israel was continuing “egregious breaches” of the Genocide Convention and the ICJ order from January.
Humanitarian and rights groups in the last two months have also raised alarm bells over Israel defying the ICJ ruling.
“Time and time again, Israel has failed to take the bare minimum steps humanitarians have desperately pleaded for that are clearly within its power to alleviate the suffering of Palestinian civilians in Gaza,” Heba Morayef, regional director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International, said in a February statement. The rights group in a Feb. 26 statement said aid workers’ ability to get aid into and around Gaza had “either remained the same or gotten worse” since the ICJ ruling.
In a March 7 report on aid obstruction, Refugees International argued that “Israel continues to show by its actions that it is either unwilling or unable to meet its humanitarian obligations laid out under the ICJ provisional measures.” Through field research and analysis, the humanitarian group’s report found a pattern of “arbitrary denial” of humanitarian goods entering Gaza and “persistent attacks” on humanitarian, health, and food infrastructure. “Israeli policies and conduct are causing a man-made humanitarian crisis,” the report noted.
