THE HAGUE, Netherlands (CN) — The UN’s highest court urged Israel on Friday to adhere to an existing emergency measures order, specifically calling attention to the southern Gaza city of Rafah where Israel has proposed a large-scale military assault.
South Africa asked the International Court of Justice on Monday to expand the provisional measures order issued in January but the Hague-based court said the existing order covered the current “perilous situation.”
In a late-night press release, the judges quoted United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, writing “the most recent developments in the Gaza Strip, and in Rafah in particular, ‘would exponentially increase what is already a humanitarian nightmare with untold regional consequences’.”
More than a million Palestinian refugees, mostly displaced by fighting from other parts of Gaza, are currently believed to be sheltering in Rafah. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last week he is planning a military operation in the city, in an effort to root out Hamas.
The city is close to the border with Egypt, which has sparked fears that Palestinians will be forced out of Gaza altogether.
In response to South Africa’s move to expand the existing order, Israel denied it was violating international law. It called the request “wholly unfounded in fact and law, morally repugnant, and represents an abuse both of the Genocide Convention and of the Court itself.”
"The court affirms our view that the perilous situation demands immediate and effective implementation of the provisional measures," South African president Cyril Ramaphosa said in a statement.
Last month, the court found risk of genocide against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and called on Israel to prevent any genocidal acts from occurring.
In December, South Africa launched proceedings at the court, saying that Israel’s military response to the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas has gone beyond self-defense and violates the 1948 Genocide Convention.
As part of the complaint, Pretoria asked judges to issue emergency measures to protect the Palestinian people while the underlying claims were adjudicated. During hearings in January, lawyers for South Africa asked the court to order Israel to stop military operations and allow humanitarian aid into Gaza.
Israel’s legal team said the country’s military is doing everything it can to minimize civilian deaths as it tries to root out Hamas. The militant organization killed more than 1,000 people and kidnapped 200 others when fighters launched a cross-border attack last year.
Any party to the post-WWII treaty can initiate a case at The Hague-based court against another signatory under the convention. The West African country of Gambia launched a complaint against Myanmar in 2020 claiming the government was committing genocide against the Rohingya.
Separate proceedings will begin at the court on Monday over a request by the United Nations General Assembly to weigh in on the legality of the Israel occupation of the Palestinian Territories.
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