Judge Nawaf Salam, president of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), called the humanitarian situation in Rafah ‘disastrous’ [File: Yves Herman/Reuters]
Published May 24, 2024
Judges at the top United Nations court order Israel to immediately halt its military assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah.
Judges at the top United Nations court ordered Israel to halt its offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah and withdraw from the enclave, in a case brought by South Africa accusing Israel of genocide, citing “immense risk” to the Palestinian population.
Friday’s decision marked the third time this year the 15-judge panel has issued preliminary orders seeking to rein in the death toll and alleviate humanitarian suffering in Gaza. While orders are legally binding, the court has no police to enforce them.
Reading out a ruling by the International Court of Justice or World Court, the body’s president Nawaf Salam said provisional measures ordered by the court in March did not fully address the situation in the besieged Palestinian enclave now, and conditions had been met for a new emergency order.
READ FULL ARTICLE
SOURCE: www.aljazeera.com
RELATED: Top UN court orders Israel to halt military offensive in Rafah; Israel is unlikely to comply
The top United Nations court has ordered Israel to halt its military operations in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. Israel insists it has the right to defend itself from Hamas militants and is unlikely to comply with the ruling.
Published May 24, 2024
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The top United Nations court ordered Israel on Friday to immediately halt its military offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah — but stopped short of ordering a cease-fire for the enclave. While Israel is unlikely to comply with the order, it will ratchet up the pressure on the increasingly isolated country.
Criticism of Israel’s conduct in the war in Gaza has been growing, particularly once it turned its focus to Rafah. This week alone, three European countries announced they would recognize a Palestinian state, and the chief prosecutor for another international court requested arrest warrants for Israeli leaders, along with Hamas officials.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is also under heavy pressure at home to end the war, which was triggered when Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel, killing 1,200 people, most civilians, and taking some 250 captive. Thousands of Israelis have joined weekly demonstrations calling on the government to reach a deal to bring the hostages home, fearing that time is running out.
READ FULL ARTICLE
SOURCE: www.apnews.com
RELATED: Top UN court orders Israel to stop Rafah offensive
Israel has said it would ignore any order to stop its offensive in Gaza
Published May 24, 2024
The UN’s top court, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), has issued a dramatic ruling, ordering Israel to “immediately halt its military offensive in Rafah”.
It acted in support of a South African application last week which sought a number of measures against Israel, accusing it of stepping up what it says is a genocide.
Israel has vehemently denied the allegation as baseless and has signalled it would ignore any order to halt its operation.
Ahead of Friday’s ruling, a government spokesperson said “no power on Earth will stop Israel from protecting its citizens and going after Hamas in Gaza”.
Reading the court’s ruling on Friday, presiding judge Nawaz Salam said that “Israel must immediately halt its military offensive, and any other action in the Rafah Governorate” which could bring about “the physical destruction” of the Palestinians – alluding to what constitutes genocide under international law.
Israel, he added, must also allow unimpeded access to Gaza to any UN body investigating allegations of genocide. The ruling also reiterated a requirement for Israel to enable “unhindered provision at scale” of basic services and humanitarian aid for Gaza.
