KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 28 – Legal experts expressed disappointment over the International Court of Justice (ICJ) not issuing an immediate ceasefire order in response to the Israel genocide case brought by South Africa.
While the ICJ’s decision is acknowledged positively, concerns arise regarding Israel’s compliance with the legally binding orders, as there is no enforcement mechanism, commented Assoc Prof Dr Salawati Mat Basir from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM).
This can be seen in Benjamin Netanyahu’s statement on Friday, which welcomed the decision of the ICJ not to order a ceasefire and rejected the accusation of genocide.
“Yes it’s true, the ICJ recognised South Africa’s claim that there was genocide in Gaza, but I still feel that if there is no ceasefire, all ICJ rulings cannot be implemented.
“The ICJ ruling is only a matter that Israel needs to implement if it has dignity. The ICJ does not have an enforcement unit to take action, but relies on the belief that Israel will obey the decision,” she said on Saturday.
Commenting further, she pointed out that Hamas is a non-state actor that is not under the jurisdiction of the ICJ, and Israel can use that matter to not implement the ICJ order under the pretext of self-defence in addition to claiming that Hamas is among civilians.
On December 29, South Africa filed a claim at the ICJ, seeking an injunction against Israel on the grounds that the country’s attack on Gaza violated the Genocide Convention.
In its ruling on Friday, the ICJ ordered Israel to implement six interim measures, including preventing genocide in Gaza, ensuring that its forces no longer commit any acts of genocide and preventing and punishing any incitement to genocide.
Israel was also ordered to allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza, prevent the destruction and ensure the preservation of evidence related to the alleged genocide and submit a report to the ICJ on all steps taken in implementing the order within a month.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Friday praised the ICJ for essentially ruling that his country’s case against Israel had merit, although he expressed disappointment that the ICJ did not order an immediate ceasefire.
But the court did order Israel to take measures to avoid more deaths in Gaza and allow humanitarian access.
Commenting further, Salawati said the proposal for economic sanctions on Israel could be brought to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) if the ICJ order is not implemented, but she was sceptical that the United States (US) would not use the veto power again.
On Dec. 8, the US used its veto power to reject a resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza that was supported by almost all other members of the Security Council and dozens of UN member states.
Describing the genocide in Gaza as the most unfortunate moment in the history of humanity in the 21st century, the law lecturer said there was a clear element of incitement from Israeli leaders who wanted to evacuate Gaza.
The element of genocide can also be seen from the continuous attacks that started in the northern part of Gaza which then expanded to the central part as far as Rafah in the south, she added.
