On Friday (26 January), the International Court of Justice delivered its first ruling in South Africa’s case accusing Israel of committing genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza.
While a final verdict on whether Israel is guilty of genocide in its war against Hamas could take years, the 17 judges adjudicating in The Hague decided that the risk to Palestinian rights under the Genocide Convention was plausible and urgent enough to order provisional measures. Stopping short of ordering an end to the war or a ceasefire, the American judge Joan Donogue, who is president of the court, said Israel must “take all measures within its power to prevent” acts of genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza under article 2 of the convention. Between numerous sips of water, Donoghue said Israel needs to prevent and punish any “direct and public incitement” to commit genocide of Palestinians, and to take “immediate and effective measures” to ensure adequate humanitarian assistance inside Gaza. Israel has to report to the court within a month on steps it has taken to uphold the ruling. The judge also expressed the court’s concern over the status of the remaining hostages taken in Hamas’s 7 October massacre in southern Israel. She called for their immediate and unconditional release.
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