Israel Faces Justice in The Hague – These are the Possible Scenarios

By John Whitbeck

There is no such thing as a authorized or ethical cause for the ICJ to not order the provisional measures sought by South Africa unanimously.

The three hours of oral arguments by the six members of the South African authorized crew, on the primary day of hearings on the Worldwide Courtroom of Justice (ICJ) on the genocide case initiated towards Israel by South Africa have been extremely skilled and spectacular.

In 2020, within the genocide case introduced by Gambia towards Myanmar, the ICJ unanimously ordered the next “provisional measures”, that are totally (and little doubt deliberately) in keeping with the provisional measures sought by South Africa:

For these causes, The Courtroom, 

Signifies the next provisional measures:

Unanimously,

The Republic of the Union of Myanmar shall, in accordance with its obligations below the Conference on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, in relation to the members of the Rohingya group in its territory, take all measures inside its energy to forestall the fee of all acts inside the scope of Article II of this Conference, specifically:

(a) killing members of the group;

(b) inflicting severe bodily or psychological hurt to the members of the

group;

(c) intentionally inflicting on the group situations of life calculated to

result in its bodily destruction in complete or partially; and

(d) imposing measures supposed to forestall births inside the group.

‘Explicitly Genocidal Intent’

Whereas the horrors inflicted upon the Rohingya have been appalling, it’s clear, as argued by the South African authorized crew, that the horrors already inflicted and persevering with to be inflicted upon the Palestinian folks in Gaza are “sadly much more stark” and “of a lot larger severity”.

And, considerably for proving “intention” below the Genocide Conference, these horrors are brazenly advocated and avowed by plentiful public declarations of explicitly genocidal intent.

Accordingly, there is no such thing as a authorized or ethical cause for the ICJ to not order the provisional measures sought by South Africa unanimously, topic solely to the presumed politically motivated dissent of the advert hoc decide added to the court docket by the Israeli authorities and the attainable politically motivated dissent of the American decide.

Since 4 of the court docket’s judges, together with the American decide, who’s at present serving as president of the court docket, are scheduled to retire and get replaced on February 6, one might anticipate that the court docket will concern its order previous to February 6. 

In gentle of the urgency of the matter, one might hope that the court docket will concern its order a lot sooner.

Whereas ICJ orders are binding and non-appealable, it’s clear that Israel will ignore any order of the ICJ, because it has ignored the court docket’s near-unanimous (the American decide dissenting) 2004 opinion on the illegality of the Apartheid Wall and all “binding” UN Safety Council resolutions and “non-binding” UN Basic Meeting resolutions towards it.

All the pieces You Have to Find out about South Africa’s ICJ Case towards Israel – LIVE BLOG & RESOURCES

Nonetheless, after such an order is issued, will probably be awkward (albeit removed from unattainable) for the the governments of the US, the UK and different Western nations to defy a “binding” order of the world’s highest judicial authority by persevering with to help, militarily, financially and diplomatically, Israel’s genocidal assault towards the folks of Gaza.

Notably, within the case of the USA, by vetoing a brand new UN Safety Council decision (most likely to be launched by new momentary member Algeria) demanding that every one states adjust to the ICJ’s order – successfully, one other demand for an instantaneous ceasefire.

If the USA have been to veto such a decision, it might be reconfirming that the subservience of its political class to Israeli domination and management has lowered the USA to the standing, like Israel, of an outlaw, rogue and pariah state.

Even Genocide Joe would possibly hesitate.

– John V. Whitbeck is a Paris-based worldwide lawyer. He contributed this text to The Palestine Chronicle.