ICJ ruling draws mixed responses from Arabs
Arab League’s extraordinary session on ICJ kicks off; GCC hails ICJ order
CAIRO: The ruling issued by the International Court of Justice in the genocide case against the Zionist entity triggered variant reactions from Arab countries, which pinned high hopes on the case to put an end to the Zionist brutalities against civilians in the Gaza Strip. The Hague-based ICJ affirmed in the ruling its jurisdiction to rule on the case raised by the Republic of South Africa, which signals that the Zionist occupation authorities committed crimes against humanity in contravention of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
However, the ICJ, the top judiciary body of the United Nations, failed to state clearly that the occupation forces must stop their aggression, which has continued over the past 113 days. The ruling fell short of stipulating an immediate ceasefire to protect the Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip. Nevertheless, it called for ensuring access to humanitarian assistance as part of provisional measures to ward off the specter of famine. Arab legal centers argue that the ICJ ruling failed to meet the aspirations of the Arab countries, notably stipulating the immediate cessation of Zionist attacks that claimed the lives of more than 27,000 Palestinian civilians and injured 35,000 others, besides thousands of missing people.
The Arab Human Rights Committee (Charter Committee of the Arab League) expressed reservations about the ruling. “We expected the ICJ to rule in favor of an immediate ceasefire,” Chairman of the Committee Justice Jaber Al-Marri said in statements to KUNA. “The interim ruling represents a win for humanitarian values in the controversy over the widespread violations of international humanitarian law in the war against Gaza, but it failed to stipulate an end to these violations,” he explained.
The ICJ had ruled in similar cases in the past, like the one in Ukraine, in favor of an immediate ceasefire, Justice Al-Marri recalled. He wondered how the provisional measures could be implemented to protect the civilians in Gaza without stipulating a ceasefire clearly in the ICJ ruling. The genocidal acts being committed by the Zionist entity, the occupying power, against civilians, including women and children, are aired live around the clock and are viewed by millions of people around the globe, so the ICJ response should be more robust, he argued.
On a similar note, Chairman of the Arab Bridge Center for Human Rights Development Amjad Shammout said the ICJ ruling gave the occupation entity “a space to go unpunished.” “Instead of a robust, clear-cut legal tone, the ICJ ruling bore a rather diplomatic one that can hardly ensure protection for civilians,” he regretted. Shammout believes that the ruling was disappointing and failed to live up to the aspirations for ending the crimes against humanity and the crimes of war being committed against the Palestinians.
Despite reservations about legal and human rights centers, the Arab League welcomed the ruling as an interim one that could lay the groundwork for intensive legal and political action against violations of international humanitarian law. Secretary-General of the League Ahmad Abul-Gheit said the provisional measures demanded by the court compel Zionists to prevent genocidal acts, and the occupying power is legally bound to implement them. “We expected the ruling to provide for immediate and comprehensive cessation of hostilities against the Gazans, but it just paved the way for intensive legal and diplomatic action on the Arab and international scales to stop the aggression,” he added.
Abul-Gheit’s remarks echoed a statement released by the Arab Parliament soon after the Friday ruling. The statement welcomed the ruling but raised questions on the likelihood of implementation of the provisional measures without a ceasefire. It called for effective action by the international community, notably the UN Security Council, to force the occupying power into full implementation of the measures.
Meanwhile, Secretary-General Jasem Al-Budaiwi of the Gulf Cooperation Council said the interim ruling, adopted by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), sends a clear indication that the Zionist entity is committing barbaric crimes against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip. The ruling on the genocide case, brought by South Africa, indicates that the brutalities being committed by the occupation forces in their war on Gaza are in breach of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, he said in a statement by the GCC Secretariat.
Hailing the ruling as historic, Al-Budaiwi commended the ICJ’s efforts to verify and document the atrocities and pursue the case thoroughly as a prelude to taking the appropriate measures in the future. The ruling is in consistency with the international laws and conventions relating to the protection of innocent civilians, notably the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, he said. The GCC chief commended the exemplary efforts made by South Africa and its legal team in bringing the case to court and pursuing its proceedings.
He urged the international community to apply pressure on the occupation entity to force it to halt the ongoing brutalities that claimed dozens of thousands of civilian lives, mainly women and children, over more than three months. He reaffirmed the commitment of the GCC states to supporting the Palestinian people in their struggle for legitimate rights under the UN resolutions and the Arab peace initiative, notably the right to establish an independent state within the June 4, 1967, borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.
In another development, the Arab League held an extraordinary session at the level of permanent delegates on Sunday to discuss a unified Arab position vis-à-vis the resolution of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against the occupation forces. The meeting, headed by Morocco, was held in response to a request by Palestine and in coordination with Morocco, Egypt, and Jordan, supported by member states.
The conferees discussed the ICJ resolution, demanding that the occupation forces adhere to the rules in accordance with the case that had been filed by South Africa against the occupation forces for committing genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza. Kuwait’s delegation to the extraordinary session is headed by the Permanent Representative of Kuwait to the Arab League, Ambassador Talal Al-Mutairi. — KUNA