Palestinian Authorities Welcome Decision of ICJ

Palestinian official and party circles welcomed the decision of the International Court of Justice, on Friday, which ordered Israel to immediately stop its military operations in the city of Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip.

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International Court Orders Israel to Halt Offensive in Rafah

In their statements following the court’s decision, these circles called on the international community to put pressure on Israel to oblige it to implement international justice resolutions, and to impose sanctions on it if it does not abide by them, including stopping supplying it with weapons. It also called for heading to the Security Council again to issue a binding resolution for a comprehensive ceasefire in Gaza.

With the approval of 13 of its members and the rejection of two members, the Court of Justice issued, earlier Friday, new temporary measures demanding that Israel “immediately stop its attack on Rafah,” “maintain the opening of the Rafah crossing to facilitate the entry of aid into Gaza,” and “submit a report to the court within A month about the steps you have taken” in this regard.

These new measures came from the court, which is the highest judicial body in the United Nations, in response to a request from South Africa as part of a comprehensive lawsuit filed by Pretoria at the end of December 2023, in which it accuses Tel Aviv of “committing genocide crimes” in the Gaza Strip.

In response, the Palestinian News Agency “Wafa” quoted the presidency as welcoming “the decisions of the International Court of Justice demanding that the Israeli occupation state stop its aggression against our people in Rafah, considering that this constitutes a direct danger to the Palestinian people.”

The presidency called on “the occupying state to immediately implement this UN resolution.”

It also called on the international community to “oblige the occupying state to implement the decisions of the Court of Justice, and to pressure it to respect and implement the decisions of international legitimacy and international law.” Because the occupying state considers itself a state above international law, and cannot be held accountable because of America’s blind and biased support in favor of the occupation.”

The Palestinian presidency reiterated “the need to oblige Israel to stop its aggression against our people everywhere, in Gaza, the West Bank, and Jerusalem.”

The presidency pointed out that “the important decision of the International Court of Justice (issued today) is in addition to all previous international resolutions that confirmed that the occupying state is committing war crimes and crimes against humanity against our people, which requires urgent international intervention to stop them immediately.”

The Palestinian presidency also appreciated “the positions of the countries that stood by the Palestinian right,” adding that “this international consensus proves once again that the occupying state stands isolated, along with its allies who provide it with support, protection, and impunity.”

At the end of December 2023, South Africa filed a lawsuit against Israel before the Court of Justice, and later countries, including Turkey, Nicaragua, and Colombia, submitted requests to join the case.

For his part, the Palestinian President’s advisor for international affairs and his special envoy, Riyad al-Maliki, said that the decisions of the Court of Justice, issued today, “are extremely important, and confirm that what Israel is doing on the ground is in violation of international law and international humanitarian law.”

He added, in an interview with the official “Voice of Palestine” radio, that the decisions were issued by “the highest legal body in the world (...) and Israel must abide by them.”

Al-Maliki pointed out that Israeli officials’ statement that they “will not abide by” the court’s decisions means that “the issue will return to the Security Council again to discuss it and take the necessary measures.”

He continued: “From this moment, we must start talking about the necessity of imposing sanctions on Israel for violating international law and refusing to abide by it (…) and providing weapons and ammunition to Israel, and any country that does so, must be stopped.”

In response, the Hamas movement said in a statement: “We welcome the decision of the International Court of Justice, which demands that the criminal Zionist entity stop its aggression against the city of Rafah immediately, and demands that it stop all measures that lead to genocide.”

In its statement, the movement also welcomed “the same decision demanding the entry of aid into all areas of the Gaza Strip, and allowing UN committees to enter to investigate crimes of genocide.”

Hamas added: “We expected the International Court of Justice to issue a decision to stop the aggression and genocide against our people in the entire Gaza Strip, and not just in Rafah Governorate. What is happening in Jabalia (north) and other governorates of the Strip is no less criminal and dangerous than what is happening in Rafah.”