South Africa filed an urgent request with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on March 7 for additional provisional measures or adjustments to the court’s January and February rulings in the country’s case against Israel, charging that Israel is carrying out genocide in the Gaza Strip. South Africa said the request is necessitated by changes to the situation in Gaza that have arisen since it originally filed the case with the ICJ, such as imminent risk of famine, particularly in northern Gaza. South Africa said the request is meant “to ensure the safety and security of 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza” and prevent Israel from “continuing egregious breaches” of the provisional measures the ICJ handed down on Jan. 26.
The ability to modify or add to the provisional measures in a previously-issued ICJ order is given in Article 41 of Statute of the ICJ. Articles 75(1), 75(3), and 76(1) of the Rules of Court also pertain to the court’s ability to modify or add to the provisional measures.
South Africa first applied for additional provisional measures on Feb. 12, noting the “significant development” of a statement three days earlier from the Office of the Prime Minister of Israel. In that statement, the office said:
It is impossible to achieve the goal of the war of eliminating Hamas by leaving four Hamas battalions in Rafah. On the contrary, it is clear that intense activity in Rafah requires that civilians evacuate the areas of combat. Therefore, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered the IDF and the security establishment to submit to the Cabinet a combined plan for evacuating the population and destroying the battalions.
The ICJ found on Feb. 16 that this statement did not demand the implementation of additional provisional measures, but instead demanded effective and immediate implementation of the existing measures.
The current application is separate from the Feb. 12 request. As such, it is unaffected by the court’s Feb. 16 decision.
The death toll in Gaza is now estimated to be over 30,000 since early October. While there are ongoing discussions regarding a ceasefire for the upcoming holy month of Ramadan, there is no agreement yet. Ramadan begins on Sunday March 10.
From Jurist, March 7. Used with permission.
See our last report on genocide accusations against Israel.
Photo: ICJ
Gaza: humanitarian aid as ‘theater’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that his military offensive will press ahead across the whole Gaza Strip, including in Rafah—where two million people have sought shelter, despite mounting international criticism of the war.
“Whoever tells us not to operate in Rafah is telling us to lose the war and that will not happen,” Netanyahu said in a speech at an Israeli army cadet graduation ceremony in southern Israel on March 7.
“There is international pressure and it’s growing, but particularly when the international pressure rises, we must close ranks, we need to stand together against the attempts to stop the war,” he said.
Hamas meanwhile issued a strong rebuke to Israel’s demands during ceasefire talks, which are to resume next week after the last round concluded in Cairo that day.
Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said that Israel was rejecting Hamas’ demands to end its offensive, withdraw its forces, ensure freedom of entry for aid, and the return of displaced people. (TNA)
In northern Gaza, Palestinians are eating grass and anima feed to survive the Israeli siege and food shortages.
Jordan, Egypt, Qatar, the UAE, the UK, France, and the United States have begun air-dropping aid into Gaza. But aid agencies say this is an expensive and ineffective way to deliver assistance.
Given US and UK support for Israel’s war—including the US continuing to sell weapons to Israel and vetoing ceasefire resolutions at the UN Security Council—critics have called the airdrops “performative” and “humanitarian aid theater.” There is more Western countries can do, they say, to pressure Israel to open more border crossings with Gaza and remove the barriers preventing meaningful humanitarian operations on the ground. (TNH)
A famine has not yet been declared in Gaza, but the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification initiative (IPC) has activated its famine review committee to assess the situation. (NBC)
US President Joe Biden has announced a plan to build a temporary port on Gaza’s coast to bring in supplies by sea. But aid officials say an immediate and permanent ceasefire is the only thing likely to prevent widespread famine, and more children from starving to death. Reports suggest the Biden administration has delivered more than 100 military sales to Israel since October (TNH)
Gaza: starvation as ‘weapon of war’
US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer made a speech before Congress March 14, saying that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been "too willing to tolerate the civilian toll in Gaza, which is pushing support for Israel worldwide to historic lows." Calling for new elections, he added: "Israel cannot survive if it becomes a pariah."
A week earlier, the European Union high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, Josep Borrell, told the UN Security Council that Israel is using starvation as a "weapon of war." (Al Jazeera, NYT, PBSNH)