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In a major decision the International Court of Justice has ordered Israel to halt immediately its offensive against Rafah, open the Rafah border to humanitarian assistance, and ensure unimpeded access for members of a UN commision of inquiry or other group investigating allegations of genocide. Israel promptly rejected the Court's orders and launched fresh artillery attacks on Rafah.
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Here is a summary of the key points in the Court's Order of 24 May 2024:
1. The Court reaffirmed the provisional measures indicated in its previous Orders of 26 January 2024 and 28 March 2024, which it said should be immediately and effectively implemented.
2. The Court indicated three new provisional measures:
a) Israel must immediately halt its military offensive and any other action in the Rafah Governorate that may inflict conditions of life on Palestinians that could lead to their physical destruction.
b) Israel must maintain the Rafah crossing open for unhindered provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance.
c) Israel must take effective measures to ensure unimpeded access to Gaza for any UN commission of inquiry or investigative body mandated to investigate genocide allegations.
3. The Court ordered Israel to submit a report within one month on all measures taken to give effect to this Order.
4. The Vice-President and Judge ad hoc Barak dissented. Their main objections were that the previous measures were sufficient to address the situation, the current military offensive does not raise plausible questions under the Genocide Convention, and Israel has the right to defend itself against Hamas.
5. Judges Nolte, Aurescu and Tladi appended declarations explaining their votes and offering some additional perspectives, while still supporting the Order overall. Their main points related to the threshold for modifying measures, the application of the measures to Israel's right to self-defense, and the need for Israel to allow humanitarian access.
In summary, the Court upheld and expanded its previous provisional measures, over the dissent of two judges, in light of the deteriorating humanitarian crisis caused by Israel's ongoing military offensive in Gaza, especially in the Rafah area. The aim was to protect Palestinians from conditions that could lead to their physical destruction under the Genocide Convention.
The full text is below:
While the political West continues to echo President Biden's declaration that Israel has the right to defend itself, there are almost no significant voices who dare to express the right of Palestinians to resist an occupation suffered for nearly 60 years. In this darkness, however, there is a light at the end of the tunnel: Everything points towards a new and different world order of a multilateral and more peaceful kind that will replace the militaristic and belligerent one led by the USA.
ReplyDeleteReaders of this comment may also be interested in my article entitled Terrorists or Freedom Fighters (https://www.meer.com/en/78028-terrorists-or-freedom-fighters).
Very well said, All gratitude to you Kristian🙏
ReplyDeleteThank you for your feed-back. I can always be contacted directly on my mail: klaubjerg@gmail.com
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