To find there’s a believable case in opposition to Israel, the Worldwide Court docket of Justice handled with contempt the argument from Israel that the case ought to be dismissed as it’s exercising its proper of self-defence. This argument took up over half of Israel’s pleadings. Not solely did the courtroom discover there’s a believable case of genocide, the courtroom solely talked about self-defence as soon as in its interim ruling – and that was merely to notice that Israel had claimed it. Para 41:
That the ICJ has not affirmed Israel’s proper to self-defence is probably crucial level on this interim order. It’s the canine that didn’t bark. The argument which each western chief has been utilizing is spurned by the ICJ.
Now the ICJ didn’t repeat that an occupying energy has no proper of self-defence. It didn’t have to. It merely ignored Israel’s specious assertion.
It may try this as a result of what it went on to iterate went approach past any believable assertion of self-defence. What struck me most concerning the ICJ ruling was that the Order went into much more element concerning the proof of genocide than it wanted to. Its description was stark.
Right here Para 46 is essential
The explanation that is so essential, is that the Court docket shouldn’t be saying that South Africa asserts this. The Court docket is saying these are the info. It’s a discovering of truth by the Court docket. I can’t emphasise too strongly the significance of that description by the courtroom of the state of affairs in Gaza.
The Court docket then goes on to element accounts by the United Nations of the factual scenario, quoting three totally different senior officers at size, together with Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner Common of UNRWA:
This after all explains why the quick response to the ICJ ruling was a coordinated assault by Israel and the mixed imperialist powers on UNRWA, designed to speed up the genocide by stopping assist, to supply a propaganda counter-narrative to the ICJ judgment, and to scale back the credibility of UNRWA’s proof earlier than the courtroom.
The Court docket works very intently with the UN and could be very a lot an entrenched a part of the UN system. It has a very shut relationship with the UN Common Meeting – most of the Court docket’s instances are based mostly on requests from the UN Common Meeting. In a fortnight’s time the Court docket might be beginning its substantive hearings on the authorized place within the Occupied Territories of Palestine, on the request of the UNGA. There are 5 particular references to the UNGA within the Order.
The Court docket spent a substantial amount of time outlining the info of the unfolding genocide within the Gaza Strip. It didn’t have to take action in almost a lot element, and much too little consideration has been paid to this. I used to be equally shocked by how a lot element the courtroom gave on the proof of genocidal intent by Israel.
It’s particularly humiliating for Israel that the Court docket quoted the Israeli Head of State, the President of Israel himself, as giving clear proof of genocidal intent, together with two different authorities ministers.
Once more, this isn’t the Court docket saying that South Africa has alleged this. It’s a discovering of truth by the Court docket. The ICJ has already discovered to be unfaithful Israel’s denial in courtroom of incitement to genocide.
Now consider this: the very subsequent day after President Herzog made a genocidal assertion, as decided by the Worldwide Court docket of Justice, he was met and provided “full help” by Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Fee and Roberta Metsola, President of the European Parliament.
Whenever you take the element of what the Court docket has discovered to be the precise info of the case, in loss of life and destruction and in intent, I’ve little doubt that it is a courtroom which is at present minded to seek out Israel responsible of genocide as soon as the substantive case comes earlier than the Court docket.
All of Israel’s arguments had been misplaced. Each one. The substantial effort Israel put into having the case dismissed on procedural grounds was brushed apart. So was self-defence. And in its findings of the info, the Court docket plainly discovered to be unfaithful the Israeli lies about avoidance of civilian casualties, the duty of Hamas for the harm to infrastructure, and the entry of aid assist to Gaza.
These are the info of what occurred.
Don’t be confused by the absence of the phrase “ceasefire” from the Court docket order. What the Court docket has ordered could be very near that. It has explicitly ordered the Israeli navy to cease killing Palestinians.
That’s completely clear. And whereas I settle for it’s tautologous, within the sense it’s ordering Israel to obey a Conference which Israel is already certain to comply with, there might be no clearer indication that the Court docket believes that Israel shouldn’t be at present obeying it.
So what occurs now?
Properly, Israel has responded by killing over 180 Palestinian civilians for the reason that Order was given from the Worldwide Court docket of Justice. If that continues, South Africa might return to the Court docket for extra pressing measures even earlier than the ordered month-to-month report from Israel is due. Algeria has introduced it is going to take the Order to the UN Safety Council for enforcement.
I doubt america will veto. There was a schizophrenic response from Israel and its supporters to the ICJ Order. On the one hand, the ICJ has been denounced as antisemitic. Alternatively the official narrative has been (extremely) to say Israel really received the case, whereas minimising the protection in mainstream media. This has been bolstered by the large and coordinated assault on UNRWA, to create different headlines.
It’s tough to each declare that Israel by some means received, and on the identical time search to dam UNSC enforcement of the Order. My suspicion is that there might be a unbroken twin observe: pretending that there isn’t any genocide and Israel is obeying the “pointless” order, whereas on the identical time attacking and ridiculing the ICJ and the broader UN.
It doesn’t matter what the ICJ stated, Israel wouldn’t have stopped the genocide; that’s the easy fact. The quick response of the US and allies to the Order has been to attempt to speed up the genocide by crippling the UN’s assist aid work. I confess I didn’t count on something fairly that vicious and blatant.
The wheels of God grind slowly, however they grind exceedingly small. The ICJ having flagged up a possible genocide so strongly, it might effectively fall to judges in particular person nations to restrain worldwide help for the genocide. As I defined intimately, the Genocide Conference has been included into UK regulation by the Worldwide Legal Court docket Act of 2001.
There’ll, past any doubt, have been minutes issued by FCDO authorized advisers warning of ministers being susceptible to private legal responsibility in UK regulation for complicity in genocide now, ought to arms shipments and different navy and intelligence cooperation with the Israeli genocide proceed. Within the US, hearings began already in California on a genocide complicity swimsuit introduced in opposition to Joe Biden.
After all I want this might all work sooner. It won’t. The UN Common Meeting might droop Israel from the UN. There are different helpful actions to be taken. However it is a lengthy slog, not a fast repair, and other people such as you and I proceed to have a significant function, as everyone does, in utilizing the facility of the folks to wrest management from a vicious political class of killers.
This was a great win. I’m happy that this course for which I advocated and lobbied has labored and elevated stress on the Zionists, and that my judgment that the Worldwide Court docket of Justice is not only a NATO device just like the corrupt Worldwide Legal Court docket, has been vindicated.
It can’t assist the infants killed and maimed final night time or these to die within the coming few days. However it’s a glimmer of hope on the horizon.
