UN’s top court says Israel must take all measures to prevent genocide in Gaza

Semafor Signals

Insights from the Financial Times and The Hill

The News

The International Court of Justice on Friday said Israel must take all measures to prevent genocide in Gaza in a preliminary ruling in response to a landmark case brought by South Africa.

It stopped short of issuing emergency measures for Israel to halt its military activities in the enclave, as requested by Pretoria, which accuses Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians in its war against Hamas.

Friday’s interim decision, the first in the case, also doesn’t rule on the question of whether Israel is committing genocide in the enclave, a verdict that will likely take years to reach.

The ruling is not enforceable by the court. And Israel, which has strongly rejected South Africa’s allegations, is believed unlikely to comply with any orders.

Hamas-run Gaza’s health ministry says at least 26,000 people have been killed by Israel’s strikes, which were launched after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel left around 1,100 people dead.

SIGNALSSemafor Signals: Global insights on today’s biggest stories.The ruling is a win for Palestinians and its allies in the Global SouthSource: Financial Times

For Palestinians and their supporters, the ruling is likely to inspire greater confidence in the international courts. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and members of South Africa’s ruling party erupted in cheers after Friday’s order, AFP reported. The case is viewed as “a test of the credibility of an international system [Palestinians and their allies] have long regarded as stacked against them,” the Financial Times wrote ahead of the decision. Palestinians will also likely see the ruling as a first step to holding Israel accountable. “This is the first serious international effort at ending this appalling situation and demanding accountability after 75 years of being denied our basic rights, equal to all other peoples,” the Palestinian envoy to the U.K. told the newspaper, describing the case as a “defining moment.”

Supporting the genocide charge could allow Hamas to continue its terrorismSource: The Hill

Critics of the case earlier said that endorsing the genocide charge will allow Hamas to continue its assault on Israelis while limiting Israel’s ability to defend itself. Hamas’ founding charter explicitly outlines the group’s “genocidal intent vis-a-vis Israel and Jews,” argued Ken Jacobson, the deputy national director of the Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish advocacy group, in a column for The Hill, adding that Israel has made “multiple efforts to avoid civilian casualties” while Hamas has limited the movement of Palestinians and placed them in areas where Israel would attack, accusing the group of using them as human shields.