UN court rejects plea to stop Gaza siege

More than half of Gaza’s 2.4 million population are sheltering in Rafah.

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AFP) — The United Nations’ top court Friday rejected South Africa’s request to put more legal pressure on Israel to halt a threatened offensive against the Gaza city of Rafah, saying it was “bound to comply with existing measures.”

Pretoria has already filed a complaint against Israel in the International Court of Justice in The Hague, alleging that its assault on Gaza amounts to a breach of the Genocide Convention.

The court has yet to rule on the underlying issue, but on 26 January it ordered Israel to ensure it took action to protect Palestinian civilians from further harm and to allow in humanitarian aid.

South African officials on Tuesday filed a further request to the court, asking it to order new measures in the light of Israel’s preparation of a new operation against Rafah.

More than half of Gaza’s 2.4 million population have sought shelter there from

Israel’s offensive on the Gaza Strip.

Meanwhile, the UN refugees chief warned

Gazans not to flee to

Egypt.

The UN high commissioner for refugees believes that once Palestinians leave

Gaza they will no longer be able to return — as happened in 1948 — something which would ruin the possibility of a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians.

The war accompanying the creation of Israel in 1948 saw 760,000 Palestinians flee or forced from their homes. Millions of their descendants continue to live as refugees in neighboring countries.

“The old 1948 refugee crisis is an unresolved problem; if you add a dimension to that, you can say goodbye to a meaningful peace process,” Grandi said.