The Court’s decision “is unprecedented for the Hebrew State”, explains Olivier Corten, specialist in international law and professor at ULB. Indeed, a judgment by the UN jurisdiction can only be rendered with the consent of the States involved, an endorsement that Israel is currently refusing to give. However, “the Hebrew State is a signatory to the Convention against Genocide of 1948, which allows the Court to be able to judge it following the request of South Africa”. It is notably within the framework of this convention that a first complaint was filed by Pretoria on December 29, 2023. The Court then did not explicitly order a ceasefire but recognized a plausible risk of genocide by the State of Israel.
Israel denies an existential risk for the “Palestinian civilian population”
The decision of the International Court of Justice therefore marks a turning point in the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Immediately after the announcement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that he would bring together several ministers from his government to “consultation”. In a joint statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Security Council, Israel subsequently affirmed that the military operation in Rafah posed no existential risk to the “Palestinian civilian population”. It remains to be seen whether the Israeli government will agree to comply with the order because “for the Israeli government, the fact of not complying this time again with international law only adds a small grain of sand to an already very substantial handful”, believes Mr. Corten.
Arrest warrants against leaders of Israel and Hamas: “It will be much more difficult to prove Israeli criminal intent”
Indeed, the ICJ’s orders are legally binding but it has no means of enforcing them. In reaction to the Israeli refusal, the UN Security Council can be seized, but “we can imagine that the United States would then veto”. However, actions against Israel before international courts could further strengthen Israel’s isolation from the international community and its allies. In fact, this decision comes a few days after the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim Khan, requested arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as well as his Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for crimes allegedly committed in the Gaza Strip.
”Enforcing international law”
The potential Israeli rebuff could therefore “surely encourage more States to take steps to uphold international law”, adds Olivier Corten. This Wednesday, Norway, Spain and Ireland – three European countries – announced the recognition of a Palestinian state as of May 28. In reaction to the ICJ’s announcement, Belgium for its part asked “immediate application of the decision”, as Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib said on X.
However, Israel decided this Friday to continue its operations in the Gaza Strip, particularly in Jabaliya, in the north of the territory at war. The Israeli army also announced that it had recovered on Thursday night the bodies of three hostages kidnapped during the Hamas attack on Israeli soil on October 7. The operation was carried out jointly by the city’s army and Israeli intelligence services. According to the IDF, they were “murdered during the massacre” committed by the Palestinian movement and their bodies were then taken from Kibbutz Mefalsim to the Gaza Strip by Hamas fighters.
