All three main TV stations headlined that the International Court of Justice “did not order a halt to the fighting.” The former deputy president of the Israeli Supreme Court, Hanan Melcer, confirmed: “The decision was less awful than it could have been.”
It was, however, awful nonetheless. Practically, and morally.
Practically speaking, the world’s most important international court determined that South Africa’s claim was plausible (though it stressed that the process of definitively determining whether the allegation was true had not yet begun). And in its overwhelming 15-2 series of binding demands, the panel in The Hague required Israel to immediately do everything it can to ensure that it is not breaching the Genocide Convention — to “take all measures within its power” to prevent the killing or injuring of Gazans, prevent conditions that would lead to such harm, and avoid conditions intended to prevent births among Gazans.
Making plain that it was not finished with Israel and the interim stage of the claim of genocide against it, the court also required Israel to report back within a month on its progress in implementing the judges’ demands. READ MORE
