U.N. court: More land crossings into Gaza for aid required
In a legally binding order, the top United Nations court says Israel must open more land crossings into Gaza for food, water, fuel and other supplies.
The International Court of Justice issued two new socalled provisional measures Thursday in a case brought by South Africa accusing Israel of acts of genocide in its war in Gaza — charges Israel strongly denies.
The U.N. has reported that 100% of Gaza’s 2.3 million people are at severe levels of food insecurity. Aid groups say complicated inspection procedures at the border, continued fighting, and a breakdown in public order have caused massive slowdowns in convoys. Israel accuses the U.N. of disorganization.
And in the West Bank, Israeli authorities said an attacker wounded three people Thursday after opening fire at several vehicles on a main route in the territory. The military said it was still searching for the shooter.
Israel strongly denies it is committing genocide and says its military campaign is self defense.
Thursday’s order came after South Africa sought more provisional measures, including a cease-fire, citing starvation in Gaza. Israel urged the court not to issue new orders.
In its order, the court told Israel to take “all necessary and effective measures to ensure, without delay, in full cooperation with the United Nations, the unhindered provision at scale by all concerned of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance” including food, water, fuel and medical supplies.
It also ordered Israel to immediately ensure “that its military does not commit acts which constitute a violation of any of the rights of the Palestinians in Gaza as a protected group under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, including by preventing, through any action, the delivery of urgently needed humanitarian assistance.”
The court told Israel to report back in a month on its implementation of the orders.
Tensions in the West Bank have surged since the start of the war in Gaza, which has killed more than 32,000 people and wounded 74,000, according to the Gaza’s Health Ministry. The ministry doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants in its tally, but says women and children make up two-thirds of the dead.
Some 1,200 people were killed in Israel and another 250 people abducted when Hamas-led terrorists stormed into southern Israel, triggering the war in Gaza. Hamas has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, Canada and the European Union.
Extension sought
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking a 30-day extension to craft a law to deal with the mandatory enlistment for ultra-Orthodox men, after weeks of negotiations in his cabinet were unsuccessful.
Israel’s Supreme Court has ordered the government to present legislation aimed at increasing recruitment among the religious community by the end of March. Netanyahu asked for the extension on Thursday afternoon.
Broad exemptions from mandatory military service for ultra-Orthodox men have reopened a divide in the country and rattled the government coalition. Netanyahu’s fellow War Cabinet members are staunchly opposed to his proposed new conscription law.
In a letter to the Supreme Court, Netanyahu said that additional time is needed “because it has been proven in the past that enlistment without an agreed-upon arrangement actually has the opposite effect.”
Most Jewish men are required to serve nearly three years followed by years of reserve duty. Jewish women serve two mandatory years.
But the politically powerful ultra-Orthodox, who make up roughly 13% of Israeli society, have traditionally received exemptions if they are studying full-time in religious seminaries.
The exemptions — and the government stipends many seminary students receive through age 26 — have infuriated the wider general public, especially while the country is embroiled in a war against Hamas in Gaza.
The Supreme Court has ruled the current system discriminatory and given the government until the end of March to present a bill and until June 30 to pass it.
White House position
White House national security spokesman John Kirby said Thursday it was too early to make any broad assessments of the new Palestinian Authority Cabinet and whether it would deliver on the “credible and far-reaching reforms” that the Biden administration has called for.
“We’ve long talked about a revitalized Palestinian Authority and how important that’s going to be to eventually delivering results for the Palestinian people and to help establish the conditions for stability both in the West Bank and in Gaza,” Kirby said. “This is about meeting the aspirations of the Palestinian people. We believe that a reformed and revitalized PA can do that.”
Israel has rejected U.S. calls for a reformed PA to administer postwar Gaza ahead of eventual Palestinian statehood.
President Mahmoud Abbas, who has led the PA for nearly two decades, announced the new government in a presidential decree on Thursday. None of the incoming ministers is a wellknown figure.
Abbas tapped longtime adviser Mohammad Mustafa to be prime minister earlier this month.
Mustafa is a politically independent U.S.-educated economist. He has vowed to form a technocratic government and create an independent trust fund to help rebuild Gaza.
Violence decried
The U.N. peacekeeping force deployed in southern Lebanon along the border with Israel is calling for ending the escalation a day after exchanges of fire killed 17 people.
The force known as UNIFIL said Thursday it is very concerned over the surge of cross-border violence between the Israeli military and Lebanese militant groups including Hezbollah.
On Wednesday, a series of Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon killed 16 people and a barrage of rockets fired by Hezbollah killed one Israeli man, making it the deadliest day in more than five months of fighting along the border.
UNIFIL said the escalation has caused a high number of civilian deaths, adding that it is imperative that “this escalation cease immediately.”