The reasons why the International Court considers that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza is reasonable | international

On Friday, the International Court of Justice, based in The Hague, deemed it “reasonable” for Israel to commit acts in Gaza that constitute genocide. It does not delve into the essence of the matter – it was not its responsibility now and it will take years to do so – and it does not dictate a ceasefire, but it declares that it is competent to investigate the accusation made by South Africa and asks Israel to take all necessary measures.

On Friday, the International Court of Justice, based in The Hague, deemed it “reasonable” for Israel to commit acts in Gaza that constitute genocide. It does not go into the substance of the matter – it was not its responsibility now and it will take years to do so – and it does not dictate a ceasefire, but it declares that it is competent to investigate the accusation made by South Africa and asks Israel to take all necessary measures to prevent the commission of the crime of genocide against the population sector. The president of the court, Joan Donoghue, stressed that “at least some of the acts and omissions alleged by South Africa” could be classified under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, which was approved by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948.

Article 2 of the Convention identifies five acts that can constitute genocide, as long as they are proven to have been committed. ““With intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.” The first is to kill members of that group; and the second, to seriously injure their physical or mental integrity. The president of the court on Friday referred to the “large number of dead and wounded” resulting from the Israeli attack. After clarifying that the numbers “cannot be independently verified,” he pointed to 25,700 dead and more than 63,000 wounded, which represents more than 1% of the population and exceeds the first month of the war in Ukraine for the worst daily deaths in Iraq. These data practically match. With those presented on Friday by the Ministry of Health of the Hamas government in Gaza.

Donohue also noted that more than 360,000 housing units were destroyed or partially damaged, citing data from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Before the war, 2.3 million people lived in Gaza, with an average of 5.6 people per family, according to data from the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics. This indicates that the homes of 87% of the population were damaged. It is estimated that half a million Gazans will have nowhere to return if the conflict ends tomorrow.

The President presented another piece of information from the United Nations: 1.7 million Gazans have been displaced from their homes. The vast majority of them are located in the south, where the Israeli army is now focusing its offensive, especially in the city of Khan Yunis. They huddle together in shelters, private homes or tents, on cold and rainy days, and try to eat at least once a day. The president cited statements from UN agencies, such as her emergency aid coordinator, Martin Griffiths, who warned earlier this month that “Gaza has simply become uninhabitable” and that “famine is just around the corner.” Or the World Health Organization, which reports critical levels of hunger among 93% of the population.

These elements refer to the third section of Article 2: “Intentionally subjecting the group to existential conditions that lead to its physical destruction, in whole or in part.” The court will determine later whether there was intent on the part of Israel. For now, he justified his interim measures by saying that “the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza is at risk of deteriorating seriously” before issuing his ruling.

incitement

Another item in the exhibit is the accusation of “incitement to genocide.” In Israel, newspaper commentators opposed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have claimed in recent weeks that the extremist statements of his far-right coalition partners and the most extreme MPs in his party, Likud, made it easier for Israel to end up in the dock. From The Hague; South Africa partly supports its complaints in public statements by ministers, MPs, soldiers and even artists.

They were referring to Heritage Minister Amicai Eliyahu, who thought about launching an atomic bomb into the Strip. Or Deputy Speaker of Parliament Nassim Fattouri, for his request to “wipe Gaza off the face of the earth,” where “there are no innocents,” and to “eliminate” the 100,000 Palestinians who, according to his estimates, are still in northern Gaza. Another Likud lawmaker, Tali Gottlieb, called for people not to “feel sorry for the uninvolved Gazans” because “there is no one,” and her party colleague Galit Distel Atbaryan, a former public diplomacy minister, urged the military to act in a “vindictive and harsh” manner. road. “.

But the chief of staff did not go into marginal examples, but rather chose three statements by influential leaders. The first, from Defense Minister Yoav Galant, when he announced a “total blockade” of Gaza — “no electricity, no food, no fuel” — and the removal of “all borders” in the fight against Hamas’ “human beasts.”

The second, shortly after the war began, from President Isaac Herzog, of the Labor Party and considered an international moderate who tried to stop Netanyahu's judicial reform: “There is an entire nation responsible. This speech that the civilians were not aware of, and were not involved in, Not true.” The president also quoted the head of the then Department of Energy and today’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Israel Katz: “We will fight the Hamas terrorist organization and destroy it. All residents of Gaza have been ordered to leave immediately. We will win. Not a drop of water or a single battery will reach them until they leave this world.” .

The choice of phrases appears to support the South African hypothesis that “incitement to genocide” cannot be presented as isolated expressions of “out-of-control groups,” but rather “emanates from the highest level” of government. Israel says, on the contrary, that those words were not translated into action. To support this, he presented to the court more than 30 declassified minutes and documents, both from government meetings and communications between military commanders, in which he allowed humanitarian aid to enter the Palestinian Strip and recommended the establishment and placement of field hospitals. The newspaper reported on Thursday that a medical ship provided by several countries had arrived on the coast of Gaza New York times.

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