The International Court of Justice (ICJ) will issue a first decision this Friday, January 26, on Israel, which South Africa accuses of genocide in the Gaza Strip. At this stage, the court will not judge the merits of the case, but could order initial measures, without having the power to enforce them.
Information to remember
⇒ An ICJ decision expected
⇒ Concerns of the international community about the situation in Khan Younes
⇒ Houthi attacks: 42% drop in trade in the Suez Canal
A first decision from the International Court of Justice expected
The judicial body established by the Charter of the United Nations, which sits in The Hague, announced that it would render a first decision on Friday on the measures requested by South Africa regarding Israel. On December 29, the country filed a request with the court, accusing the Jewish state of genocide against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
The judges will not rule today on the merits of the case, but on the “precautionary measures” requested by South Africa: it will not decide the question of the existence or not of a genocide, but could require certain urgent measures to be taken by Israel. If the ICJ reports a risk of genocide, it could order Israel to stop its military campaign, triggered by the unprecedented attack by Hamas on October 7, or to facilitate humanitarian aid for the inhabitants of the Gaza Strip.
The ICJ has no way of having its decisions applied by the States concerned, but the case has great symbolic importance. Some countries may be forced to question their support for Israel, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu already suggesting he would not feel obliged to follow a court order. “No one will stop us, not The Hague, not the Axis of Evil, not anyone else,” he said.
“It’s the world turned upside down,” Netanyahu said about this affair. “If there were acts that can be described as genocidal, then they were perpetrated against Israel,” Israeli lawyer Tal Becker told the ICJ. The Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas has pledged to respect a ceasefire if it is demanded by the Court on Friday, provided that Israel also complies with it.
The international community is concerned about the situation in Khan Younes
France, through a press release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, condemned Thursday the shooting that occurred the day before against a UN refugee center in Khan Younes, in the south of the Gaza Strip. According to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, these strikes left 13 dead and 56 injured, including 21 in critical condition. “The United Nations sites and humanitarian personnel, whose work is essential to the civilian populations of Gaza, must absolutely be protected,” affirms the Quai d’Orsay, recalling that “the protection of civilians is both a moral and an international obligation.
The German Foreign Minister said Thursday she was “extremely concerned” by the “desperate situation” of civilians in Khan Younes, and called for a humanitarian ceasefire. “Even the right to self-defense is subject to rules and international humanitarian law also applies to the fight against terrorists,” said Annalena Baerbock.
The city, “surrounded” by the Israeli army since the start of the week, suffered incessant bombardments on Thursday, according to AFP. Thousands of Palestinians are fleeing the city for Rafah, located 10 km south near the Egyptian border. “A human tide is forced to flee Khan Younes,” lamented the commissioner general of Unrwa, Philippe Lazzarini during the night, referring to “an endless search for security” for the inhabitants of the Gaza Strip.
Hamas accuses Israel of shooting against civilians
Hamas’ health ministry on Thursday denounced a “new massacre” in Khan Yunis and said Israel had killed 20 people queuing for aid outside the city, and injured 150. others.
Although the Israeli army did not confirm this information, several witnesses interviewed by AFP claimed to have been targeted by the army. According to images shot by AFP, ambulances, sirens blaring, flocked to a hospital in the Gaza Strip, where injured people were being treated on the ground.
Suez Canal: 42% drop in trade
“We are very concerned about attacks on shipping in the Red Sea,” an official from the UN trade and development body (UNCTAD) said on Thursday. Trade in the Suez Canal, which connects the Red Sea to the Mediterranean, has fallen 42% over the past two months, according to the UN.
Attacks by Yemen’s Houthis, allies of Iran and supporters of the Palestinians, have increased since the Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip. These rebels, who control a third of Yemeni territory, demand an end to the fighting, and regularly attack ships from countries accused of being “allies” of Israel.