Occupied Jerusalem- In conjunction with the issuance of the decision of the International Court of Justice in The Hague, which demanded that Israel stop its military attack on Rafah immediately, Israeli warplanes launched a series of violent raids on various areas in the Gaza Strip.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu quickly held urgent security consultations to discuss possible measures to circumvent the court’s decision.
The intense air attacks that focused on Rafah Governorate reflected the Israeli consensus represented by the government coalition and parties from the opposition camp, rejecting the decision issued by the court, which also includes new precautionary measures regarding the Israeli war on Gaza, based on the request submitted by South Africa.
In addition to ordering the immediate cessation of Israeli military operations in Rafah, the new precautionary measures stipulate that the Rafah crossing be reopened for the entry of aid into the Gaza Strip, and that Israel guarantees the access of any international investigation committee to investigate the facts regarding charges of war crimes and genocide in the Gaza Strip, as well as requiring Tel Aviv to submit a report. The court will report within a month about the steps it will take.
Unanimous criticism
The International Court’s decision was met with comprehensive condemnation by political and party circles in Tel Aviv, which affirmed its support for the Israeli army and the military operations it is carrying out in the Gaza Strip, claiming to “defend” Israel and return Israeli detainees held by Hamas.
In reference to non-compliance with the court’s decision and justifying the continued aggression against the Palestinians, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said that Israel is in a state of war for its existence, and that the Jewish people enjoy independence and the ability to protect their lives, “and whoever demands that Israel stop the war is demanding that it end its existence, and we will not agree to that.” “.
The same position was expressed by Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who attacked the court in The Hague, saying that the unrealistic order issued by the anti-Semitic court in The Hague should have only one answer: “Occupy Rafah, increase military pressure until Hamas is defeated, and achieve Complete victory in the war,” he said.
War Council member and head of the “National Camp” Benny Gantz mobilized to defend Israel, as he quickly spoke by phone with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken regarding the international justice decision, and asked for the US administration’s support in the event that the court’s decision was submitted to the Security Council.
This phone call to Gantz came despite Netanyahu’s exclusion of him, along with Minister Gadi Eisenkot, from urgent consultations to respond to the international court’s decision, as Gantz affirmed in his tweet on the “X” platform that “Israel is committed to continuing the fighting until the return of its kidnappers and the security of its citizens in Everywhere, and in Rafah.”
Criticism of the International Court’s decision also came from Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid, who said that the Court of Justice’s failure to link in its ruling between the cessation of fighting in Rafah and the return of the kidnapped “is a moral collapse and a moral disaster,” as he put it.
Lapid continued to criticize Netanyahu’s government, saying in a tweet on the “X” platform that “it was possible to prevent the Court of Justice’s ruling, but we will not win with this government.”
The head of the “Israel Beytenu” party, Avigdor Lieberman, who opposes the Netanyahu government, seemed more critical of the court’s decision, as he said in a brief statement, “The decision of the Court of Justice proves that the institutions of the United Nations, as well as the Criminal Court, have become an aid to terrorists around the world. The Israeli government’s decision to appear before… “The international tribunal was a grave mistake.”
The Rafah operation continues
Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper’s political affairs correspondent, Itamar Eichner, said that the international court’s decision places the Israeli leadership before a central dilemma and confusion as to whether Israel should obey the order or not? Or continue military operations in the Gaza Strip without paying attention to the orders and precautionary measures issued by the court.
The correspondent believes that the decision taken by the court, although it did not include everything requested by South Africa, is a “worrying decision” for Israel, and could be considered more problematic for the Israeli army.
He explained that the decision also challenges the United States, which opposed the military operation in Rafah and warned of a humanitarian catastrophe, a warning and position cited by the president of the court, Lebanese Judge Nawaf Salam, in the context of his decision.
Regarding the impact of the International Court’s decision on the course of the fighting in Rafah, the military and security affairs analyst at the “Ynet” website, Ron Ben Yishai, indicated that Israel and the Israeli army can coexist with the decisions of the International Court, saying that Israel’s demand to stop the fighting in Rafah is not definitive, but rather conditional. Not to harm or harm the Palestinian civilian population and to ensure their safety.
Thus, the military and security affairs analyst says that the court adopted the position of the American administration, which is already convinced that Israel is doing what is necessary to prevent harm to the Palestinian population, and therefore Washington does not oppose the continuation of the military operation in Rafah, and Israel can claim that it is doing everything in its power to prevent Harming civilians, and focusing its military operations against armed organizations.
The military and security affairs analyst believes that even if the decisions are submitted to the Security Council, it is not certain that the United States will find it difficult to impose its veto power, but he says that despite American support, the court in its decisions displayed a “bright orange card.” to Israel, and caused it serious damage on the international scene.
In a review of the legal meanings of the International Court’s decision from the Israeli point of view, lawyer Raz Nazri, former deputy advisor to the Israeli Attorney General, said that the court’s decision is “bad and dangerous for Israel” at the political, legal, economic and media levels, and it expresses the politicization of international courts.
The lawyer believes that Israel will continue military operations in Rafah and the Gaza Strip, and will say that it “acts with the aim of avoiding harming civilians,” but when it fights Hamas from among the civilian population, it will also kill civilians.
Speaking to Israeli Channel 12, Nizri suggested that the Israeli army, which will claim in justifications that it does not violate the decisions of the International Court, will continue military operations in order to undermine Hamas politically and militarily and return the kidnapped Israelis.