The International Court of Justice (ICJ) stopped short of ordering a ceasefire in Gaza in a case brought forward by South Africa accusing Israel of genocide in the tiny coastal enclave but demanded that Israel try to limit deaths and damage caused by its military offensive there. While considering the urgency of the situation the international court released a six-point interim decree ordering provisional measures to protect Palestinians in Gaza. T
he court observed that its adjudicators are well aware of the extent of the human tragedy that is unfolding in the region and are deeply concerned about the continuing loss of life and human suffering. The court ruled that Israel must refrain from killing Palestinians or causing harm to them and that it urgently needs to get basic aid to people in Gaza. It also ruled that Israel should prevent and punish any incitement to genocide, among other measures.
Gaza and its residents have witnessed unimaginable destructions and woes during the four-month war in a thickly populated tiny enclave. Israel’s unceasing bombardment and reckless ground offensive have killed more than 26,000 Palestinians, decimated vast swaths of Gaza, and driven nearly 85 per cent of its 2.3 million people from their homes.
There has been tremendous pressure from the global community on Tel Aviv to halt its indiscriminate operation and allow humanitarian aid to the war-torn region but all those appeals and persuasions could not work against Israel’s resoluteness and US hegemonism. Unfortunately, the United Nations and its executive arm the UN Security Council (UNSC) failed to adopt a ceasefire resolution despite weeks-long debates and multiple attempts to conceive consensus among 15 member forum primarily due to multiple uses of discriminatory veto power by the United States during the current conflict in Gaza.
After the global efforts at the UN together with OIC shuttle diplomacy, Chinese and Russian endeavours grew dim in bringing calm to the Middle East, once apartheid victim South Africa brought the case of ongoing Palestinian genocide in Gaza to the International Court of Justice, to get justice and provide some relief to bereaved Palestinians who otherwise badly betrayed by the western nations and their vanguard the UN Security Council.
The Gazans’ plea was not only about one of the world’s most intractable conflicts and severe human rights issues but a test for the judges sitting at the most prestigious court in Hague that owes responsibility for dispensation of justice and protection of rights for the whole of the universe. Historically, it was a test of consciousness, humanity, principality, and justice for a weak and highly marginalized society vis-a-vis the ego of an apartheid regime and its powerful ally.
Ironically, over 100 days of ruthless bombing on the civilian population, unbelievable destruction of Gaza, over 26000 deaths, nearly 80000 injuries, and months-long siege of the territory neither satisfy the Israeli revenge for the October 7 attack and nearly 1200 Israeli deaths nor limitless Muslim blood prove its worth to 17 member bench at the Hague court who did not pronounce a verdict to stop the continuing bloodshed in Muslim majority region. All global institutions and multilateral forums adopt dual standards for scaling different phenomenons and use different words/terms for friends and foes, for the West vis-a-vis Asia and Africa.
Such shades are very much clear at the UN, the ICJ, the IAEA as well as the ICC whose agendas are universal by implementation is selective. So far, another global forum shed off its responsibility where Palestinians should move for now?
