International Court of Justice (ICJ) at the Hague, Netherlands, on May 24 ordered Israel to halt its military assault in the city of Rafah, located in the southernmost part of Gaza. The 15-judge Bench, however, stopped short of ordering a full ceasefire throughout the enclave. The ICJ, in a 13:2 majority, ruled that Israel must “immediately halt its military offensive and any other action in the Rafah Governorate that may inflict on the Palestinian group in Gaza conditions of life that could bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part.” The two dissenting votes came from Uganda and Israel.

WHAT ELSE DID THE ICJ DIRECTED?

  • In its ruling, the court also directed Israel to open the Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza to allow the flow of humanitarian aid.
  • It asked the Jewish state to provide access for any fact-finding or investigative missions sent by the UN to investigate the genocide allegations in Gaza.
  • Israel was ordered to report back on its progress to the ICJ within a month.
ARE THE ICJ RULINGS LEGALLY BINDING? Rulings by ICJ are legally binding but it has no way of enforcing them. However, experts believe the latest order can deepen Israel’s isolation from the rest of the world. THE CASE The ruling is the latest pronouncement by the court in a case brought by South Africa against Israel in December 2023, accusing the latter of a genocide in the Gaza Strip. Since the case has begun, the court has given a series of rulings.
  • For instance, in January, it ordered Israel to take action to prevent acts of genocide against Palestinians.
  • Two months later, the ICJ ruled that Israel must ensure that basic food supplies arrive without delay to Palestinians in Gaza.
  • This new order has come in regard to a fresh request made by South Africa on May 10. The country approached ICJ, asking for an urgent order to protect the Palestinians in Gaza from “grave and irreparable violation of their rights”, owing to Israel’s ongoing military assault on Rafah.