The order issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on January 26 asking Israel to stop genocide of Palestine people is a development of major significance in the battle of the peace-loving people of the world demanding the end of the war between Israel and Palestine in Gaza. The nearly four-month-old conflict has expanded to other areas of West Asia involving Lebanon, Yemen and Iran.
Though the ICJ order has not called for immediate ceasefire in Gaza, but the call to Israel to take steps to limit killings and acts of genocide recognize the very fact that Israel is guilty of the killings and the Netanyahu government must stop the killings which it can do only by stopping the war. The 17-judge court ruled Israel must do all it can to prevent genocide, including refraining from killing Palestinians or causing harm to them. The Court asked Israel to submit a report in a month mentioning the steps Israel has taken to implement the order of the Court.
The ICJ orders have statutory importance. Initially, Israel demanded that the ICJ should not entertain the petition filed by South Africa calling for end to the genocide by the Israelis and immediate end of the Gaza war which has so far cost more than 25, 000 lives of the Palestinians. South Africa is a member of the BRICS group along with Russia, China, India and Brazil. Now five more nations have been included since the beginning of this year.
BRICS nations, excepting India, have been most vocal for ceasefire of the Israel-Hamas war since its beginning in October 7. But Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the only member of the BRICS group to extend full support to Israel on that very day. This positioning continued for long till December 13 last year when India voted for the first time in favour of a resolution of the United Nations calling for a humanitarian ceasefire. Now after another six weeks of war, the Israeli killings of civilians have increased and all BRICS members are worried at the level of Israeli vengeance which is focused more on exterminating the civilians.
Following the order of the ICJ, India must use its goodwill with Tel Aviv to unequivocally urge Israel to stop the killings and abide by the instructions of the Court. The face-saving statement of just mentioning India is supporting the two-state solution and with the Palestine people will not work anymore. It is time that Prime Minister labels the Israeli killings as genocide and Modi’s dear friend Benjamin Netanyahu is responsible for that. Already, the South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Brazil President Lula Da Silva have called upon Israel to respond to the ICJ order. That ought to be the call of all the BRICS members, including India.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reacted to the ICJ order by saying “The charge of genocide levelled against Israel is not only false, it’s outrageous, and decent people everywhere should reject it.”But a statement from Hamas welcomed the court’s “important” ruling, saying it “contributes to isolating Israel.”
Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyadh al-Maliki said: “Palestine welcomes the significant order by the International Court of Justice in South Africa’s case against Israel under the Genocide Convention. The ICJ ruling is an important reminder that no state is above the law or beyond the reach of justice.”
Speaking on the steps of the seat of the ICJ, South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor said Israel will have to halt fighting in Gaza if it wants to adhere to the orders of the UN’s top court.“How do you provide aid and water without a ceasefire?” Pandor asked, adding: “If you read the order, by implication a ceasefire must happen.”
Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn also congratulated South Africa for bringing the case. “If our political leaders respected international law, they would call for the unconditional fulfilment of the provisional measures, and demand an immediate ceasefire in Gaza,” he urged. In Britain, there is a growing opposition through massive demonstrations to Sunak government supplying arms to Israel. Similar demonstrations have been held in Paris and Berlin.
While, in other parts of the western world, demonstrations are being held for stopping arms shipments to Israel, in India, there are reports that Israel is looking for contract workers from India and a few firms are making arrangements for sending those Indians to Israel. This should be stopped immediately.
The ICJ order has laid the base for stepping up the global movement against Israeli genocide of Palestinians. Netanyahu must be persuaded to comply with the ICJ order. Once the process starts, ceasefire is inevitable. India ought to be a part of the BRICS initiative towards peace. (IPA Service)
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