Now that we have heard the provisional judgment handed down by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the South African genocide case against Israel, we can say with confidence that a new world order is taking shape.
The World Court today confirmed that South Africa’s accusation under the Genocide Convention that “Israel has engaged, has engaged and risks further engaging in acts of genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza” is “plausible”. He further ruled that Israel must “take all measures” to avoid acts of genocide in Gaza. The Court did not go so far as to call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire, which has already been demanded by the absolute majority of the world’s nations. However, most of the “provisional measures” requested by the Republic of South Africa have been approved by the Court. It is difficult to see how Israel can implement these measures, and fulfill its obligations under the Genocide Convention, without agreeing to a ceasefire.
Of course, there is no indication that Israel intends to comply with the Court’s provisions. In fact, since the ICJ heard South Africa’s case two weeks ago, Israel has doubled down on genocidal acts in Gaza.
In the last 24 hours alone, it has committed 21 massacres, killing 200 people and injuring 370 civilians. Israel’s message to the Court, and to the world in general, is therefore clear: it does not care about the opinion, demands or “measures” of any international institution – legal or political. He will do what he wants.
In total, more than 1 percent of Gaza’s population has been killed and 2.2 percent injured over the past three months. Most of the enclave has been destroyed and almost all of its more than two million residents have been displaced. The incessant siege, coupled with the deliberate targeting of hospitals, led to the collapse of the health system. Medical services are virtually non-existent and people are dying from starvation and disease, including hepatitis A and Leishmania. Even the smallest injury can be a death sentence, as it is extremely difficult to maintain hygiene and prevent infections. Hundreds of women suffered miscarriages and many more died in childbirth due to lack of medical care.
In this context, it is not surprising that the World Court found it “plausible” that Israel could commit genocide in Gaza. But given his lack of interest in complying with international law – and the unconditional support he enjoys from the West – there is little reason to expect him to change his conduct due to the Court’s damning provisional decision.
So why did South Africa take Israel to the ICJ, and why does today’s decision really matter?
As South Africa asserted, “Israel’s genocidal acts” must be understood “in the broader context of 75 years of Israeli apartheid.” Israel has committed numerous violations of international law since 1948, including war crimes and crimes against humanity. Its apartheid regime and illegal occupation denied Palestinians’ most basic human rights for nearly a century. It passed a racist “nation-state law” that declares Israel’s “right to national self-determination” to be “unique to the Jewish people,” establishes Hebrew as Israel’s official language, and establishes “the Jewish colonization as a national value. ” and requires that the State “endeavor to encourage and promote its creation and development.”
After ethnically cleansing most of historic Palestine of its indigenous population through massacres and robberies in 1948, he then imprisoned the Gaza population in the Gaza Strip, committing what the courageous Israeli historian Ilan Pappe defined in his latest book, The World’s Largest Prison: A History of Gaza and the Occupied Territories, as “ethnic cleansing by other means.” “(Palestinians in Gaza) are confined within their own areas, but should not be counted in the overall national demographics since they cannot freely move, develop or expand, and they do not have basic civil and human rights either,” Pappe explained.
From its inception, Israel sought to eliminate Palestine’s indigenous population through ethnic cleansing, apartheid, ghettoization and segregation. And today he is committing the first ever live-broadcast, globally-watched genocide in human history.
How did South Africa, a nation which itself experienced the worst of settler colonialism, ethnic cleansing and racial segregation, a nation which succeeded in destroying a vicious apartheid regime and replacing it with a multiracial, multicultural and progressive democracy, could it remain silent in the face of Israel’s crimes?
It was not possible.
South Africans recognized that doing nothing in the face of Israel’s continuing genocide in Gaza would have meant that no lessons would have been learned from the Sharpeville and Soweto massacres, from everything they endured under colonial rule and years of apartheid.
They realized that now that Israeli occupation and oppression have reached their genocidal climax, the international community no longer has the luxury of waiting, issuing statements and hoping for the best. Every minute of inaction brings more casualties, more deaths and more despair for the Palestinians.
So they took action: They brought Israel before the highest court in the world and accused it of committing the world’s most heinous crime: genocide.
Israel may not heed the Court’s rulings and provisions, but South Africa’s historic position will still have consequences. As South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation stated after the ICJ’s interim ruling: “Third States are now aware of the existence of a serious risk of genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza. They must therefore also act independently and immediately to prevent genocide perpetrated by Israel and to ensure that they themselves do not violate the Genocide Convention, including by aiding or assisting in the commission of genocide. This necessarily imposes an obligation on all states to cease financing and facilitating Israel’s military actions, which are likely genocidal.”
With this case, South Africa has put not only Israel, but the entire global justice system, on trial. This affair constitutes a major turning point for humanity, because it is the first time in history that a country of the South has courageously crossed the red line drawn by the colonial West and demands that its favorite colony, Israel, be held responsible for the crimes she committed. has been engaged for a long time against an indigenous people. Today, thanks to South Africa, the entire colonial West and its centuries-old history of theft, dispossession and injustice are on trial in the World Court.
Future generations will remember January 26, 2024, as the day the world finally decided to hold a genocidal state and its powerful backers accountable for repeated and long-standing violations of international law. Yes, a new world order is being established.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of Tel Aviv Tribune.