Published 24 May 2024 at 21.20
Foreign. The International Court of Justice in The Hague (ICJ) orders Israel to halt its military offensive in Rafah – while a genocide investigation is underway.
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It is South Africa which has accused Israel of violating the Genocide Convention. The country demands that Israel end its military offensive in Gaza and withdraw from the occupied territories.
ICJ orders Israel to “immediately cease its offensive in Rafah” and ensure that investigators are allowed free access to the Gaza Strip to secure evidence.
The announcement has angered Israel's government, BBC News reports, and ministers are accusing the ICJ of endangering Israel's existence. The government shows no signs that it intends to obey the ICJ, but rather the opposite.
Even opposition leader Yair Lapid is furious.
“That the court does not make a connection between the cessation of the fighting in Rafah, the the return of abductees and Israel's right to defend itself against terrorism is a moral collapse and disaster,” he writes.
David Mencer, spokesman for the Israeli government, tells the BBC that no one can persuade Israel to end the war against Hamas .
– No power in the world can pressure us to commit public suicide, he says.
Another court – the International Criminal Court (ICC) – is simultaneously investigating Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes.