South Africa takes Israel to International Court of Justice
South Africa announced on Friday that they have filed an application instituting proceedings against Israel before the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Their accusation is that Israel is committing Genocide against Palestinians through their operations within the Gaza Strip.
What is the International Court of Justice?
Wikipedia defines the ICJ as one of the six principal organs of the UN, settling disputes between states in accordance with international law and gives advisory opinions on international legal issues. The court has no power to rule on matters of justice and crime that are binding. They’re also not able to give out any punishment to nations that the court deems has violated international law, unlike the International Criminal Court (ICC). The ICC has the power to indict and detain individuals accused of crimes.
The ICJ is also powerless because the United States can veto any attempt to enforce it’s judgements. They sit on the UN Security Council and are allied very closely with the state of Israel.
From Israel’s point of view, they are operating within international law and the rules of war put out through the Geneva Convention. Israel’s Foreign Minister rejected the claims made by South Africa stating, “Israel is committed to international law and acts in accordance with it, and directs its military efforts only against the Hamas terrorist organization and the other terrorist organizations cooperating with Hamas,” adding that it has made “every effort to limit harm to the non-involved and to allow humanitarian aid to enter the Gaza Strip.”
For many years, the UN has been accused of being anti-Israel, and defenders of the middle eastern state will certainly add this to the list of examples. Ultimately, this case is unlikely to have any sway on the war and will not lead to any repercussions for the state of Israel. That may not be the goal. Israel is fighting a public opinion battle, and this will only expand the accusations that they are operating in an unjust way in Gaza.
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