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DPA International
DPA International
In a move rejected by Israeli officials, the UN’s top court on Friday ordered Israel to “immediately” halt its military assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah, saying the humanitarian situation in the Palestinian territory was “disastrous.” The ruling read aloud by Judge Nawaf Salam at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague was in response to an urgent application submitted by South Africa. South Africa justified its application to the ICJ by arguing that the court’s previous measures in connection with the Gaza war were inadequate. Israel rejected Friday’s ruling. “The char…
The following comments were received from various sources by San Diego Jewish World. As editor, I pass them along in the interest of presenting a range of Jewish opinion:
REACTION:
World Jewish Congress:
Ronald S. Lauder, President of the World Jewish Congress, issued the following statement in response to the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) latest ruling regarding South Africa’s case against Israel, and the court’s order that Israel halts operations in Rafah:
“We reiterate our firm belief that Israel, like any sovereign nation, must retain the right to protect its citizens against acts of terror. Today’s decision by the ICJ will only prolong Hamas’s deadly reign over the people of Gaza.
“Hamas is solely responsible for this conflict and stands in the way of a future where Israelis and Palestinians live side-by-side as neighbors. Since the events of October 7th, the group has used civilians as human shields—a blatant violation of international law which must be unequivocally condemned—while continuing to siphon away humanitarian aid from those who need it most.
“The situation in Rafah, where Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar is reportedly hiding with hostages, underscores Israel’s need to act.
“We urge the international community to recognize Israel’s right to self-defense and to join us in calling for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages held by Hamas. It is imperative that global efforts focus on holding this terror organization accountable for the atrocities it has committed and ensuring the safety and security of all innocent lives. The lack of focus on this issue by global institutions to this point is deafening.”
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Sen. Bernie Sanders (Ind-Vermont)
Washington, DC [US], May 24 (ANI): US Senator Bernie Sanders has expressed his support for the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrants against Israeli and Hamas leaders and said that it is imperative that international law be upheld by the global community.
This comes after ICC chief prosecutor Karim AA Khan announced the filing of arrest warrant applications against Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel Defense Minister Yoav Gallant alongside Hamas’s three top leaders — Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif, and Ismail Haniyeh, for allegedly committing “crimes against humanity” during Israel’s seven-month-old war against Hamas in Gaza.
“In the last several years, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for political leaders who violate international law and engage in war crimes and crimes against humanity,” Bernie Sanders said in a statement on Friday.
“That includes Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose illegal invasion of Ukraine initiated the most destructive war in Europe since World War II; Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas leader who started the horrific war in Gaza by launching a terrorist attack against Israel, which killed 1,200 innocent men, women, and children; and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who, in response, has waged an unprecedented war of destruction against the entire Palestinian people, which has killed or injured over 5 per cent of the population,” he added.
The Democratic leader further said that without these “standards of decency and morality”, the planet may rapidly descend into “anarchy, never-ending wars, and barbarism.”
“The ICC prosecutor is right to take these actions. These arrest warrants may or may not be carried out, but it is imperative that the global community uphold international law. Without these standards of decency and morality, this planet may rapidly descend into anarchy, never-ending wars, and barbarism,” Sanders stated.
Earlier, US President Joe Biden termed the ICC prosecutor’s application for arrest warrants as “outrageous” stating that the US “will always stand with Israel against threats to its security.”
Biden said that what is happening in Gaza is not genocide and reiterated his support for Israel. (ANI)
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American Jewish Committee
Today’s International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) order on provisional measures is outrageous. It does nothing more than promote South Africa’s slanderous and dangerous narrative that Israel is targeting Palestinian civilians in its military operation in Gaza, masked in the language of international law.
South Africa’s charge of genocide against Israel remains baseless and inexcusable, and the ICJ has not found that Israel is acting in violation of the Genocide Convention.
Since the beginning of Israel’s self-defensive military operation in Gaza, following Hamas’ brutal attack on October 7, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have gone and continue to go to great lengths to remove civilians from harm’s way. Like the State of Israel, we acknowledge and mourn the deaths of Palestinian civilians who were tragically killed due to Hamas’ use of civilians as human shields and the incredibly challenging circumstances of urban warfare on top of hundreds of miles of terror tunnels constructed by Hamas.
The Court called on Israel to “immediately halt its military offensive, and any other action in the Rafah Governorate, which may inflict on the Palestinian group in Gaza conditions of life that could bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part.” Ad Hoc Judge Barak insisted in his dissenting opinion that today’s ICJ order does not impede Israel’s operation in Rafah, writing that it “requires Israel to halt its military offensive in the Rafah Governorate only in so far as is necessary to comply with Israel’s obligations under the Genocide Convention.”
Israel’s actions in Gaza are aimed at Hamas,and can in no way be understood as intended to inflict conditions that could bring about the destruction of the Palestinian population of Gaza. Barak and several other judges – Sebutinde, Nolte, and Aurescu – also expressed the view that the Court’s order does not impede “Israel’s right to prevent and repel threats and attacks by Hamas, defend itself and its citizens, and free the hostages.”
Further, in issuing today’s order, the Court has overreached and strayed from its jurisdiction. The Court’s authority to consider South Africa’s complaint is limited to the obligations of the Genocide Convention, which South Africa used as the basis for its complaint against Israel. In the absence of any evidence that Israel is acting with genocidal intent, it is now micromanaging an armed conflict, which it has no authorization to do, and is acting on the basis of information that it has not had an opportunity to consider, much of which originates from unreliable sources.
The Court’s order is rooted in South Africa’s distorted presentation of the humanitarian situation in Gaza. The Court wrongly dismissed Israel’s insistence that it is actively facilitating the entry and distribution of humanitarian aid and assistance that Palestinian civilians require and will continue doing so, as well as evidence that Hamas continues to attack and obstruct its aid delivery efforts.
While AJC notes the order’s additional call for the “immediate and unconditional release of the hostages” – a release, persistently blocked by Hamas, that would hasten the end of fighting in Gaza – this portion of the order only serves to emphasize the need for Israel to continue its efforts to bring the hostages home.