Top court orders Israel to prevent acts of genocide, fails to order ceasefire

**Updates with further reactions.

Israel must take steps to prevent acts of genocide in Gaza, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled on Friday (26 January) but stopped short of ordering a ceasefire as requested by South Africa.

The South African government had brought the case against Israel to the ICJ, the highest court of the United Nations, at the end of December alleging its actions in Gaza since the 7 October Hamas attacks violate the UN’s 1948 Genocide Convention.

Both Israel and South Africa are signatories to the convention, which defines genocide as “acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group”.

The 17-judge panel at the ICJ in the Hague ruled noted that “at least some of the acts and omissions committed by Israel in Gaza appear to be capable of falling within the provisions of the genocide convention”.

Israel must take provisional measures to prevent acts of genocide, prevent and punish incitement to genocide, prevent the destruction of evidence, and address adverse conditions of life in the Gaza Strip including allowing humanitarian aid, they ruled.

In one month, Israel must submit a report on all measures taken to the effect of this order, to which South Africa will be able to respond.

The ICJ did not order Israel to end all military operations in the strip, a main request on the part of South Africa.

However, on the steps outside the court following the ruling, Naledi Pandor, South Africa’s minister of international relations, told reporters: “I believe that in exercising the order, there would have to be a ceasefire.”

“The fact of taking measures that reduce the levels of harm against persons who have no role in what Israel is combatting, for me, requires a ceasefire, and I believe Israel would have to attend to how it conducts its search for the hostages and for those Hamas individuals who carried out the October 7 attack,” she said.

Following the announcement, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu put out a video address stating that “the charge of genocide levelled against Israel is not only false, it is outrageous, and decent people everywhere should reject it.”

Riyadh Maliki, Palestinian Minister of Foreign Affairs, said shortly after the ruling that “the ICJ order is an important reminder that no state is above the law.”

“It should serve as a wake-up call for Israel and actors who enabled its entrenched impunity. Palestine reaffirms its eternal gratitude to the people and government of South Africa for taking this bold step of active solidarity and will continue to work closely with South Africa and other countries to ensure that justice is served,” the minister said.

When reading out the judgement, ICJ president Judge Joan Donoghue said: “While figures relating to the Gaza Strip cannot be independently verified, recent information indicates that 25,700 Palestinians have been killed. Over 63,000 injuries have been reported. Over 360 housing units have been destroyed or partially damaged, and approximately 1.7 million persons have been internally displaced.”

“At the present stage of the proceedings, the court is not required to ascertain whether any violations of Israel’s obligations under the Genocide Convention have occurred,” Donoghue said.

Sally Abi-Khalil, Oxfam Regional Director for the Middle East, said: “Oxfam welcomes the ICJ’s order and provisional measures as a crucial step towards recognizing the ongoing atrocities in Gaza and stopping the bloodshed and unimaginable horrors that 2.3 million Palestinians have already endured.”

EU response

On Friday afternoon, a joint statement from the European Commission and the EU’s chief diplomat Josep Borrell affirmed the EU’s support for the ICJ: “Orders of the International Court of Justice are binding on the Parties and they must comply with them. The European Union expects their full, immediate and effective implementation.”

“The right of each Party to submit arguments in respect of jurisdiction, admissibility or the merits remains unaffected by today’s decision on South Africa’s request for the indication of provisional measures,” the statement said.

Following the ruling, the Spanish foreign ministry said: “Spain calls on all parties to respect and comply with these measures in their entirety. Once again, Spain reiterates its call for an immediate ceasefire, the unconditional release of the hostages, immediate and regular humanitarian access and the need to move towards to establishing the two-state solution.”

Earlier in January, in the wake of the two-day initial hearing, Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic and France had rejected South Africa’s claims.

“To accuse the Jewish state of genocide is to cross a moral threshold,” French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne said on 17 January.

Slovenia on 16 January came out in support of another court case against Israel concerning violations of the rights of Palestinians.

Ireland and Belgium said that they would support the ICJ’s Friday ruling.

“If the International Court of Justice calls on Israel to cease its military campaign in Gaza, our country will fully support it,” Belgium’s Minister of Development Cooperation Caroline Gennez said on Friday.

[Edited by Alexandra Brzozowski]

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