The Top UN Court Edicts Israel to Put an end to the Offensive in Rafah

Picture courtesy: (Peter Dejong/AP) UN’s top court edict Israel to stop Rafah offensive.

(The Post News)- On Friday, May 24, the United Nations’ top court, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), issued a dramatic decision stating that Israel must immediately cease its military offensive in Rafah. This decision from the UN supports an application made by South Africa last week.

Throughout the week, the court examined various measures against Israel, which has been accused of escalating actions described as a massacre.

Presiding judge Nawaf Salam argued that the situation in Gaza had worsened after the court last decreed that Israel take steps to change its approach to war and must also allow access to Gaza, including any UN body investigating allegations of massacre.

The decision also reiterated a claim for Israel to enable stopped provision at the scale of basic services and humanitarian aid for Gaza.

On the other hand, Israel has vehemently refused to accept the decision and signalled that it would ignore any order to ruin its operation.

Israel rejected the court’s decision and argued that its military offensive in Gaza was by international law.

National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi’s statement, which was also a joint statement with the foreign ministry, said Israel shouldn’t carry out military operations in the Rafah area that create living conditions that could result in disaster for the Palestinian civilian population as a whole.

However, the war cabinet minister Benny Gantz states that Israel is going to continue its attack wherever and whenever necessary; not even Rafah would be spared.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian ambassador to the UN, Riyad Mansour, hailed the decision and argued for Israel to accept the decision. He added that they are hoping that the resolutions of the ICJ will be put in place without hesitation.

The European Union’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, argued after the decision of the ICJ that the commitment to the decision of law and its support for Israel is going to be harder to make compatible. Aid agencies and the UN do not have enough aid to reach people in Gaza, which means they are facing food shortages.

South Africa’s Foreign Ministry Chief, Zane Dangor, said the decision is groundbreaking, referring to it as the first time the court has made a clear order to Israel to stop its action in a part of Gaza.

Hamas had accepted the decision that it stated to demand that the brutal Zionist entity Israel stop its aggression in Rafah.

It’s concerning to see that despite the International Court of Justice’s order, the situation remains volatile, with both countries seemingly determined to continue hostilities. The IDF’s statement, released on Sunday, May 26, following the blast in Gaza, suggests that the conflict persists despite the court’s directive to Israel to halt its military actions in Rafah.

Hamas-run authorities announced 35 people had lost their lives, including women and children, while dozens were injured at a camp for displaced Palestinians north-west of Rafah, away from recent military attacks in a designated humanitarian safe zone.

The attack was launched as revenge against Hamas because hours earlier, Hamas had launched eight rocket attacks from Rafah towards Tel Aviv, the first long-range attacks on the city since January.

The military wing of Hamas defended its action, arguing it had acted in response to the massacre of civilians.