What the ICJ’s interim ruling means for Israel’s war on Gaza
What the ICJ’s interim ruling means for Israel’s war on Gaza
The ICJ’s provisional measures stop short of calling for a ceasefire, but could make the war harder for Israel to wage.
“Israeli politicians have already said that they’re going to ignore the ICJ order,” Mark Lattimer, the executive director of Ceasefire Centre for Civilian Rights, told Al Jazeera. “It is much harder for, particularly, the US and European states including the UK, to ignore the order because they have a much stronger record of holding or supporting the International Court of Justice.”
“The ICJ ruling puts a lot more pressure on the US and other Western allies to move on a ceasefire resolution,” Zaha Hassan, a human rights lawyer and a fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told Al Jazeera. “It makes it a lot harder for the US, along with Israel, to make the case to Western governments that are still very much concerned with international legitimacy, to maintain the idea that Israel is acting within the constraints of international law in Gaza and that it’s acting in self-defence.”
Some evidence suggests that Israel knows this, too. Soon after South Africa announced that it would bring a case before the ICJ, Israel’s tactics on the ground started to change, experts said.
There was “a rush to wipe out any possibility for a Palestinian return to the north of Gaza”, Hassan said, pointing to controlled bombings of universities and hospitals. “Once you have hospitals taken out, you make it impossible for people in war to stay. That’s a part of a strategy to force Palestinian population transfer and permanent displacement.”
-
What the ICJ’s interim ruling means for Israel’s war on Gaza, in terms of realpolitik: pretty much nothing, to be honest.
-
I think it's an important step to increasing international pressure on Israel. International pressure was a major reason for how the apartheid in South Africa came to an end. But I do agree it's terrible more immediate actions aren't being taken to help Palestinians like an actual ceasefire or aid not being prevented for possible "dual-use"
-
I agree that it’s important.
I also agree that it’s deeply frustrating that this is effectively just a slap on the wrist for Israel.
-
Yes this ruling puts pressure on the genocide enablers in Europe and the US. Israel will still act with impunity as it has done since it was founded but it is dependant on the political and military cover of it's backers. If Western politicians are under pressure to comply with domestic laws against genocide then they will start breaking ranks.
-
-
it MIGHT have an effect in the united states. israel is so reliant on us dollars and equipment to survive, it would not be much of a stretch to call them a client state.
I don't think any (democratic) politicians want to be associated with or vocally support a genocidal nation. don't be surprised if you see (democratic) politicians talk about pulling funds from israel. it's something I think we should have done at least 30 years ago.
-