UN’s top court orders Israel to prevent genocide, no call for ceasefire

By Nathan Morley

The UN's top court has imposed emergency measures on Israel in the genocide case brought by South Africa.

The International Court of Justice in the Hague has spent the last few weeks hearing a case brought by South Africa which alleges that Israel’s military offensive in Gaza amounts to genocide.

Since the start of proceedings, Israel has dismissed the allegation as baseless.

Though a verdict on South Africa's allegation of genocide is not expected for years, an interim ruling on Friday saw the court order measures instructing Israel to prevent the killing of Palestinians or causing them harm and taking actions to provide basic services and humanitarian assistance.

‘The court is acutely aware of the extent of the human tragedy that is unfolding in the region and is deeply concerned about the continuing loss of life and human suffering,’ Justice Donoghue, the president of the court, said.

Decisions by the court are binding, but have no means of enforcement.

As part of its case, South Africa called for an immediate halt to the Israeli military operation. South African lawyers argued that months of bombardment had violated the Genocide Convention of 1948 and the intent to destroy Gaza had ‘been nurtured at the highest level of state’.

Israel is a signatory to the convention, which defines genocide and commits states to prevent it.

Speaking in Jerusalem after the interim ruling was announced, Benjamin Netanyahu called the genocide accusation ‘not only false, it’s outrageous, and decent people everywhere should reject it.’ He said Israel would continue to ‘defend ourselves and our citizens while adhering to international law’, adding it would ‘continue this war until absolute victory’.

At the same time, the Palestinian foreign ministry welcomed the ruling and called on all states to ensure that all provisional measures ordered by the court were implemented.

In what appears to be a related development, Israel’s El-AL airlines has announced it will suspend flights to Johannesburg from the end of March. The company cited a steep drop in demand.