The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is expected to announce an interim ruling in South Africa’s genocide case against Israel on Friday, January 26.
The initial ruling by the ICJ will not answer the fundamental question of whether Israel is committing acts of genocide. Instead, it will focus solely on enforcing potential emergency measures, akin to issuing a restraining order, while the court looks at the full case — a process that usually spans several years.
If granted, a ruling in favour of emergency measures could require Israel to declare a ceasefire in Palestine’s Gaza and facilitate increased access for UN humanitarian aid to reach the enclave’s residents, according to the Guardian (UK).
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, already asserted earlier this month that Israel would not be bound by an ICJ decision, stating: “No one will stop us — not The Hague, not the ‘Axis of Evil’ and no one else”.
On January 11, South Africa levelled accusations of “genocidal conduct” against Israel at the ICJ, asking the world court to order an emergency suspension of Tel Aviv’s offensive in the besieged enclave.
Israel has denied South Africa’s allegations, describing them as “grossly distorted,” and said it had a right to defend itself and was targeting Hamas, not Palestinian civilians.
Tel Aviv’s brutal war on Gaza, now in its 111th day, has killed at least 25,700 and wounded 63,740 since October 7, 2023.
Source: TRT
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