Today’s decision by the International Court of Justice that Israel has a right to wage war in Gaza but that it should take care to ensure it does not commit genocidal acts falls far short of what is required to rein in the apartheid regime.

While the decision acknowledges that Israel has a case to answer for genocide, the remedy fails to take account of the endemically violent nature of the Israeli beast. The court is effectively putting the fox in charge of a hen house it has mercilessly ravaged for over three months.

This is outrageous considering that such an approach has already resulted in the massacre of over 25,000 Palestinians, the overwhelming majority of them women and children. How anyone with any sense of justice, let alone a court, cannot be moved to act to effectively prevent the wanton slaughter of innocent, defenceless civilians is a stain on the institution.

The failure to protect the beleaguered Palestinians highlights just how deeply the instruments of justice have been colonised by the West and are exploited to expand and preserve their global power. They are clearly not fit for purpose.

Over its 75 year history, Israel has violated dozens of UN resolutions without any consequences whatsoever. The immunity it enjoys from international bodies has emboldened it to act outside all moral and international legal norms. Today’s decision will embolden it even more.

[ENDS]

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IHRC is an NGO in Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations.
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