I wonder how long it will take for Israel to file a countersuit against Palestine for their failure to prevent genocidal statements.
There’s plenty of room to have the ICJ force the UN to designate Hamas, PFLP, PIJ, Hezbollah, and others as genocidal terrorist organizations that cannot receive any UN funding or have their members employed by the UN. UNRWA would have to fire half their employees, but that’s not a bad thing.
There’s no doubt in my mind that Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, etc. etc. would, given half the chance, genocide Jews in Israel.
But I think part of genocide is having the power structure to actually accomplish that level of violence and they just aren’t capable of it. Individual ATROCITIES? Sure, that’s in their reach. Assassinating an entire people? They just don’t have that capability.
If you look at an American example… the Americans had the capability and desire to commit genocide against Native Americans.
The inverse? Massacres, sure, genocide? Not so much.
Expected and disappointing statement. This just backs the non-statement of saying Israel should “do what it can” to protect civilians. The simplest way to protect civilians is to order an immediate ceasefire. This will help Biden to continue supporting the genocidal campaign that Israel is conducting on the Palestinians, because nothing he says opposes the ICJ.
Israel is not genocidal, and this trial result supports that.
Ordering an immediate ceasefire would be the world binding Israel's hands, preventing the nation from defending itself against Hamas before Israel achieves meaningful security goals.
The simplest way to protect civilians is for Hamas to return the hostages and immediately end the war, the next best way is to let Israel take out the terrorist government that keeps instigating violence and attacking theirs.
The trial supports the opposite of what this comment is indicating. The role of the ICJ is to determine whether Israel’s alleged actions are capable of being covered by the Genocide Convention. Today they decided that this is indeed the case and the measures they announced, as meager as they are, are legally binding. A final decision will be probably only made in a couple of years.
“Judge Donoghue says the court has decided that Israel must “take all measures within its its power” to prevent all acts within the scope of the genocide convention.
She adds that Israel must ensure “with immediate effect” that its forces do not commit any of the act in the genocide convention.”
Since Israel is the only force attacking Palestinians, the order to prevent all acts under the genocide convention “with immediate effect” means that the court IS in fact recognizing Israel is committing genocidal acts against the Palestinian people and that they, and they alone, have the obligation to stop it.
If a court ordered you to “ensure you must with immediate effect dispose of any and all illegal drugs in your possession”. This doesn’t mean you have them, only that if you do you have to get rid of them.
The same applies here, they must make sure genocide isn’t happening, not stop their ongoing genocide.
Palestine is really winning hearts but not so much minds in the information side of this war.
When a court orders you to reverse an action, it’s a recognition that you are currently engaging in that action.
So when this court ruled “that its (Israels) forces do not commit any of the act in the genocide convention.”
They are stating that Israeli forces are, in fact, committing acts covered under the genocide convention.
If they weren’t, there would be no need for the court order.
Now, Israel’s defense could be that any genocidal action is the act of individual soldiers or units and is not official Israeli policy… I don’t BUY that, but it’s plausible deniability.
In this case, now, the court is saying Israel has an obligation to stop it regardless of who ordered it.
“In the present Convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:
a. Killing members of the group;
b. Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
c. Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;
d. Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;
e. Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.”
Israel is already engaging in A, B, and C. So it’s not a matter of telling them to not do something they are currently not doing.
from defending itself against Hamas before Israel achieves meaningful security goals
Please explain to me, in what world “defending against Hamas” (which are islamist terrorists) and “achieving meaningful security goals” includes bombing a Greek Orthodox Christian church?
They didn’t really call for it to stop military action though. They called for it to stop doing things intended to be genocide; I predict that Israel will just disagree that it intends genocide, and keep on doing it.
Ruling that the Palestinians are a protected class under the Genocide conventions is pretty big though…
From the live thread:
“7m ago 07.43 EST International Court of Justice orders Israel to prevent genocide in Gaza Judge Donoghue says the court has decided that Israel must “take all measures within its its power” to prevent all acts within the scope of the genocide convention.
She adds that Israel must ensure “with immediate effect” that its forces do not commit any of the act in the genocide convention.
Israel must also take immediate measures to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza.”
and:
“14m ago 07.37 EST ICJ recognises right of Palestinians in Gaza to be protected from acts of genocide Judge Donoghue, speaking now at the ICJ, said at least some rights sought by South Africa in its genocide case against Israel’s war in Gaza are plausible. She said: “A link exists between the rights claimed by South Africa that the court has found plausible and at least some of the provisional measures requested.”
With the reading still ongoing, the court said it recognises the right of Palestinians in Gaza to be protected from acts of genocide. Palestinians appear to be a protected group under the genocide convention, the court said.
Friday’s ruling at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) does not deal with the core accusation of the case – whether genocide occurred – but will focus on the urgent intervention sought by South Africa.”
Also, statements by Israel are pretty fucking damning IMO:
“20m ago 07.33 EST Judge Donoghue is detailing comments made by Israeli officials during the war, including:
Defence minister Yoav Gallant saying he had ordered “complete siege” of Gaza City”, and later said “we will eliminate everything” and that Israel was fighting “human animals”.
President Isaac Herzog saying, “It’s an entire nation out there that is responsible”.”
Internet warriors distorted reality and made you believe self-defense is genocide. Although terrible, what the Palestinians are experiencing right now is nothing like what the Jews experienced in world war II, which is what the genocide statutes were written to address. Were they being forced into trains and worked to death or put into gas chambers, I guarantee you they would apply.
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