Israel must take steps to prevent genocide in Gaza, UN court says in ruling on temporary measures
International Court of Justice said it won't throw out case on the main genocide question
The top court for the United Nations on Friday ordered Israel to take measures to prevent and punish direct incitement of genocide in its war in Gaza, although it stopped short of ordering a ceasefire in a case brought forth by South Africa.
"The state of Israel shall ... take all measures within its power to prevent the commission of all acts within the scope of Article II of the Genocide Convention," the International Court of Justice (ICJ) said.
In a sweeping ruling, a large majority of the 17-judge panel of the ICJ voted for urgent measures which covered most of what South Africa asked for with the notable exception of ordering a halt to Israeli military action in Gaza.
The court ordered Israel to refrain from any acts that could fall under the Genocide Convention and also ensure that its troops do not commit any genocidal acts in Gaza.
Israel must report to the court within a month on what it's doing to uphold the order.
The decision is legally binding, but the court has no way to enforce it.
Former Human Rights Watch executive director Kenneth Roth told CBC News on Friday that the court didn't have the capacity to make a ruling on a ceasefire because Hamas is a non-state actor. The court did urge Hamas to release the hostages it still holds from the Oct. 7 attacks in southern Israel.
"I think, frankly, this is as far as the court can go," said Roth.
Roth said the ruling could potentially make an "enormous difference" to the lives of Palestinians on the ground and apply "big political pressure" for Israel to abide by the ruling.
An estimated 1,200 people were killed during the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, including Israeli security forces and civilians, along with foreign nationals, according to the Israeli government. About 250 others were taken hostage. Israel responded with tremendous force in Gaza, saying its attacks are intended to take out Hamas and its supporters, not civilians.
The health ministry in Gaza has said thousands of women and children are among the more than 25,000 people in the territory killed since then, a tally that does not differentiate between civilians and Hamas fighters.
Limited humanitarian aid has been allowed into Gaza over the last 100 days.
The ICJ, also known as the World Court, did not deal with South Africa's main allegation on whether Israel is committing genocide, though it said Friday it would not throw out the case, as Israel requested.
Palestinians appear to be a protected group under the genocide convention, the court said.
"The ICJ judges assessed the facts and the law, they ruled in favour of humanity and international law," Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki said in a televised speech.
Israeli judge votes in favour of 2 measures
South Africa hailed what it called a "decisive victory" for international rule of law in an initial statement. Outside the court in The Hague, Naledi Pandor, South Africa Minister of International Relations, said it is vital states "exercise their responsibility to protect global citizens."
"South Africa had the view that we could not sit idly by," she said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel's "commitment to international law is unwavering," but he again rejected the premise of South Africa's case.
"The charge of genocide levelled against Israel is not only false, it's outrageous, and decent people should reject it," said Netanyahu.
"Our war is against Hamas terrorists, not against Palestinian civilians," he added. "We will continue to facilitate humanitarian assistance and to do our utmost to keep civilians out of harm's way, even as Hamas uses civilians as human shields."
The Israeli judge on the 17-member panel, Aharon Barak, wrote in a separate opinion that "although I am convinced there is no plausibility of genocide," he voted for two of the measures. He said he joined the majority in ordering Israel to refrain from public incitement "in the hope that the measure will help to decrease tensions and discourage damaging rhetoric."
He said he voted for a measure about ensuring humanitarian aid in the hope that it "will alleviate the consequences of the armed conflict for the most vulnerable." The Ugandan judge on the panel was the lone member to not vote in favour of the humanitarian aid measure.
The U.S., through a State Department spokesperson, said the ruling was consistent with Washington's view that Israel has the right to take action, in accordance with international law.
"We continue to believe that allegations of genocide are unfounded and note the court did not make a finding about genocide or call for a ceasefire in its ruling and that it called for the unconditional, immediate release of all hostages being held by Hamas," the spokesperson said.
In Ottawa on Friday, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly released a statement saying Canada would continue "to follow the case very closely," noting Canada supports the role of the ICJ in resolving disputes but that support "does not mean that we accept the premise of the case brought by South Africa."
During two days of public hearings earlier this month, South Africa condemned Hamas for its brutal attack in Israel in October but said there is no justification for the scale of Israel's response in Gaza.
South Africa has asked the court to order Israel to cease its assault on the Palestinian territory, among the nine emergency measures it has asked for. It has also pushed for more humanitarian aid to enter Gaza.
Israel rejected the genocide claim outright and argued in the court that South Africa's claim was "distorted." Israel also said it had a right to defend itself and was targeting Hamas, not Palestinians civilians.
With files from CBC News and The Associated Press