Israel must comply with key ICJ ruling ordering it do all in its power to prevent genocide against Palestinians in Gaza
Today’s decision by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to order provisional measures in response to South Africa’s genocide case against Israel is an important step that could help protect the Palestinian people in the occupied Gaza Strip from further suffering and irreparable harm, said Amnesty International today.
An immediate ceasefire by all parties remains essential and – although not ordered by the Court – is the most effective condition to implement the provisional measures and end unprecedented civilian suffering.
Agnès Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International
The ruling issued by the ICJ ordered six provisional measures including for Israel to refrain from acts under the Genocide convention, prevent and punish the direct and public incitement to genocide, and take immediate and effective measures to ensure the provision of humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza. Crucially, the Court also ordered Israel to preserve evidence of genocide and to submit a report to the Court, within one month, of all measures taken in line with its order.
“Today’s decision is an authoritative reminder of the crucial role of international law in preventing genocide and protecting all victims of atrocity crimes. It sends a clear message that the world will not stand by in silence as Israel pursues a ruthless military campaign to decimate the population of the Gaza Strip and unleash death, horror and suffering against Palestinians on an unprecedented scale,” said Agnès Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International.
“However, the ICJ decision alone cannot put an end to the atrocities and devastation Gazans are witnessing. Alarming signs of genocide in Gaza, and Israel’s flagrant disregard for international law highlight the urgent need for effective, unified pressure on Israel to stop its onslaught against Palestinians. An immediate ceasefire by all parties remains essential and – although not ordered by the Court – is the most effective condition to implement the provisional measures and end unprecedented civilian suffering.
[An aftermath of a bombed area in Gaza. Rubble and destroyed buildings everywhere. A man is walking on top of the rubble.]
©Mahmud Hams/AFP via Getty Images
A man carries a propane gas cylinder on his back while walking through debris and destruction littering a street in the Jabalia camp for Palestinian refugees in Gaza City on October 11, 2023.
“The stakes could not be higher – the ICJ’s provisional measures indicate that in the Court’s view the survival of Palestinians in Gaza is at risk. The Israeli government must comply with the ICJ’s ruling immediately. All states – including those who were critical of or opposed South Africa’s submission of the genocide case – have a clear duty to ensure these measures are implemented. World leaders from the USA, UK, Germany and other EU states must signal their respect for the Court’s legally binding decision and do everything in their power to uphold their obligation to prevent genocide. Failure to do so would be a grave blow to the credibility and trust in the international legal order.”
States must also take urgent steps to prevent ongoing international crimes, including by imposing a comprehensive arms embargo against Israel and Palestinian armed groups.
The USA, UK, Germany and other EU states must signal their respect for the Court’s legally binding decision and do everything in their power to uphold their obligation to prevent genocide.
Agnès Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International
Amnesty International has warned of the risk of genocide in Gaza due to the shockingly high death toll among Palestinians, the widespread destruction caused by Israel’s relentless bombardment and the deliberate denial of humanitarian aid as part of the ongoing illegal blockade which are all inflicting horrifying levels of suffering on Gaza’s civilian population. Other warning signs include the increase in racist and dehumanizing rhetoric by some Israeli government officials, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Israel’s history of oppressing and discriminating against Palestinians under its system of apartheid. In the face of a serious risk of genocide, all states are under an obligation under international law to act to prevent the commission of genocide.
More than 26,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed in Israel’s unrelenting bombardment of Gaza with some 10,000 believed to be still missing under the rubble. At least 1.8 million Palestinians have been internally displaced and are deprived of access to adequate food, water, shelter, sanitation, and medical assistance.
Amnesty International calls on Israel, Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups to immediately suspend all military operations in Gaza. Israel must lift its illegal and inhuman siege and allow the unhindered and unconditional flow of desperately needed humanitarian aid to Palestinians, who are suffering from a deliberately engineered famine. We urge Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups to release all remaining civilian hostages.
Background
On 29 December 2023, South Africa brought a case against Israel at the ICJ under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide over allegations of genocide against the Palestinian people in the wake of the attacks on 7 October 2023 by Hamas and other armed groups, in which nearly 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in Israel were killed and some 240 were taken hostage. Hearings on South Africa’s request for provisional measures took place in The Hague on 11 and 12 January 2024.
The 84-page filing by South Africa accuses Israel of acts and omissions “genocidal in character, as they are committed with the requisite specific intent … to destroy Palestinians in Gaza as a part of the broader Palestinian national, racial and ethnical group.”
The International Court of Justice is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations (UN). It does not pursue individual criminal responsibility, rather the Court’s role is to settle, in accordance with international law, legal disputes submitted to it by States, including those relating to the interpretation, application or fulfilment of the Genocide Convention and the responsibility of a State for genocide.
Article 94 of the UN Charter provides that judgments of the ICJ are binding on the parties to the dispute and that, if they are not implemented, then recourse is to be had to the Security Council, which may make recommendations or decide upon measures to be taken to give effect to the judgment.
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On Sat, Mar 8, 2025 at 9:36 PM Martin Wasserman > wrote:
The Jewish prophets predicted a time when all the nations would gather together against Israel, and the Almighty would then render His judgments and exact His retribution upon those nations. The fact that tiny Israel has been so successful at fending off powers much larger than itself shows that these prophecies have already begun to manifest.
Martin Wasserman
On Mar 8, 2025, at 9:03 PM, Aram James > wrote:
Israel a Vile Terrorist State Since 1948
Israel has a U.S. sponsored/paid for army, navy, air-force and nuclear weapons. Palestine no institutional military only their spirit of resistance and resilience. Hamas are not terrorists but freedom fighters of the first order. Israel an apartheid state has maintained a concentration camp called Gaza for decades. Israel is a rogue outlaw nation. A second genocide is now occurring in the West Bank with full U.S. support. Israel condemned by the majority of the world’s nations and by the International Criminal Court and by the UN’s International Court of Justice. Israel 🇮🇱 must be eliminated. A one-state and a one-person vote true democracy is the only viable road to peace.
Avram Finkelstein
Amnesty International
July 2024
Israel’s occupation and annexation of the Palestinian territories are unlawful.
Source: Amnesty International
https://search.app/4h3oHkneZLPjCrzZ6
ICJ opinion declaring Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories unlawful is a historic vindication of Palestinians’ rights
Responding to the historic advisory opinion delivered today by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the legality of Israel’s policies and practices in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) and the consequences of Israel’s conduct for other states and the UN, Erika Guevara Rosas, Amnesty International’s Senior Director for Research, Advocacy, Policy and Campaigns, said:
“The International Court of Justice has issued its opinion and the conclusion is loud and clear: Israel’s occupation and annexation of the Palestinian territories are unlawful, and its discriminatory laws and policies against Palestinians violate the prohibition on racial segregation and apartheid.
“This is a historic vindication of the rights of Palestinians who have endured decades of cruelty and systematic human rights violations stemming from Israel’s unlawful occupation.
“The occupation is a key pillar of the system of apartheid that Israel uses to dominate and oppress Palestinians, and which has caused suffering on a mass scale. Palestinians have witnessed their homes being demolished, their lands expropriated to build and expand settlements, and have faced suffocating restrictions disrupting every aspect of their daily lives, from family separation and restrictions on freedom of movement to denial of access to land, water and natural resources.
“The ICJ opinion comes at a time when Israel has been flagrantly flouting international humanitarian law on a cataclysmic scale for the past nine months, carrying out deadly and unlawful attacks during its onslaught in the occupied Gaza Strip that have claimed an unprecedented toll on civilians. It has also been escalating illegal land grabs in the occupied West Bank, and authorizing the construction of more and more settlement units in occupied and illegally annexed East Jerusalem, all but entrenching and perpetuating the unlawful occupation. Israeli authorities have also consistently failed to comply with the provisional measures ordered by the ICJ to prevent genocide in Gaza. Israel must not be allowed to trample on international law any longer.
“The international community, and in particular Israel’s allies, must now take unequivocal action to ensure Israel ends its unlawful occupation, starting with the immediate halting of the expansion of Israeli settlements and reversing the annexation of Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, and dismantling its brutal system of apartheid against Palestinians. Ending the occupation is crucial in order to stop the recurrent pattern of human rights violations across Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
“Israel must withdraw its forces from all parts of the occupied territories, including the Gaza Strip and remove all settlers from the West Bank, including from the illegally annexed East Jerusalem. Israel must also relinquish control over all aspects of Palestinians’ lives, as well as ceding control of borders, natural resources, air space and territorial waters of the occupied territory. This means lifting the illegal blockade of Gaza and allowing Palestinians to travel freely between Gaza and the West Bank.”
On Sat, Mar 8, 2025 at 6:24 PM Martin Wasserman > wrote:
Repeating a lie over and over again doesnt make it true. Every day Israel’s enemies falsely accuse it of genocide, while totally ignoring the actual genocidal intentions of Hamas. The best way to stop the fighting in Gaza is for Hamas to release all of the hostages unconditionally. If Israels enemies really cared about the Gazans, they would be demanding that Hamas release the hostages rather than trying to put all the blame on Israel.
Martin Wasserman
On Mar 8, 2025, at 5:37 PM, Aram James > wrote:
Subject:
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2. PRESS RELEASES
PALESTINE
"Shame on you, Berkeley!" Peace Groups to Call Out Berkeley for Failure to Acknowledge Genocide in Gaza
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 6, 2025
MEDIA CONTACT: Melissa Garriga | melissa@codepink.org
Bay Area CODEPINK to Hold Press Conference at 3/11 Berkeley City Council Meeting
"SHAME ON YOU FOR YOUR SILENCE ON GENOCIDE IN GAZA!"
Berkeley, CA – CODEPINK will hold a press conference on March 11 at 5:30 PM PT at the Berkeley City Council meeting, 1231 Addison Street, Berkeley, to demand that the Berkeley City Council take action in recognizing the genocide in Gaza. Participants will stand in silence with blood-red hands and banners displaying the names of children murdered by Israeli forces using U.S. weapons. The group’s message is clear: "SHAME ON YOU FOR YOUR SILENCE ON GENOCIDE IN GAZA!" . They will publicly shame the Council for its failure to vote on a resolution condemning the Israeli genocide in Gaza, as well as its refusal to call for a ceasefire and an end to the violence and starvation in Gaza.
The Berkeley Peace and Justice Commission passed a Ceasefire Resolution in October 2024 that former P&J Commissioner George Lippman said focuses “on what must happen right now to end the death and destruction,” recommending that the City Council discuss and vote on it. However, the City Council has ignored the Commissions request, refusing to take any action. CODEPINK is demanding that the Berkeley City Council agendize and vote on the Resolution so that Berkeley can show it cares about a genocide being funded with U.S. taxes, joining cities surrounding Berkeley – San Francisco, Richmond, Oakland, and Hayward– who have all gone on record in favor of a permanent ceasefire.
EVENT DETAILS:
Date: March 11, 2025
Time: 5:30 PM PT
Location: 1231 Addison Street, Berkeley, CA
"The Berkeley City Council’s inaction and silence regarding the genocide in Gaza is unacceptable," said CODEPINK organizer Cynthia Papermaster.
"We are spending billions of U.S. tax dollars on weapons killing children, and given Israel’s human rights violations, that funding is illegal under U.S. and international law. We desperately need funds in Berkeley to address so many issues– affordable housing, healthcare, clean energy, education. If the City Council can’t oppose the genocide on moral grounds, they should at least care about our community’s needs. It’s difficult to understand the Council’s inaction; we know that the majority of Berkeley voters, like those nationwide, overwhelmingly want a permanent ceasefire and end to arming Israel. We are pleading with the Council to uphold Berkeley’s social justice reputation, take a stand, and act by putting the recommended resolution on their agenda and voting on it."
CODEPINK urges all concerned citizens to join the press conference on March 11 to stand silently with us.