Israel Not Complying with ICJ Orders: Ramaphosa

By Al Mayadeen English

11 Mar 2024 14:35

The South African President asserts that South Africa sees "it fit to approach the court on an urgent basis particularly with the view of addressing the challenges in the Rafah area."

South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa, confirmed on Monday that "Israel has not been complying with the orders issued by the [ICJ] court."

He continued to assert that South Africa sees "it fit to approach the court on an urgent basis particularly with the view of addressing the challenges in the Rafah area," as he referred to the massacres being committed in the region by "Israel".

He concluded that further action must be taken as the "people in Gaza are now starving". 

"Israel" was also ordered to prevent the killing of Palestinians, causing serious bodily or mental harm, inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part, and imposing measures intended to prevent births - all within the context of the Genocide Convention.

South Africa was not the only one that asserted this fact.

UN special rapporteur on the occupied territories, Francesca Albanese, declared last month that "Israel" is violating orders issued by the ICJ to immediately protect Palestinians’ rights and cease all activities amounting to genocide.

South Africa has already accused "Israel" of violating one of the measures imposed on it by the International Court of Justice, which is ordering the occupation to protect Palestinian civilian lives. 

South Africa's Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor highlighted earlier how Israeli occupation forces directly killed hundreds of Palestinian civilians just days after and in spite of the ICJ ruling.

“I can’t be dishonest. I believe the rulings of the court have been ignored. Hundreds of people have been killed in the last three or four days. And clearly, Israel believes it has the license to do as it wishes,” she told reporters in Pretoria, deriving parallels between Gaza and Rwanda amid the silence of the world on the Palestinian death toll.

Moreover, Pandor also highlighted how the International Criminal Court treated Benjamin Netanyahu and Vladimir Putin differently in their respective cases. Reportedly, it seemed significantly easier for the ICC to charge Putin for war crimes, but Netanyahu has been let off the hook. 

Last month, according to a statement issued by the Court, the ICJ refused to add additional provisional measures per South Africa's request because it deemed that those ordered on January 26 were already sufficient. 

"This perilous situation demands immediate and effective implementation of the provisional measures indicated by the Court in its Order of 26 January 2024, which are applicable throughout the Gaza Strip, including in Rafah, and does not demand the indication of additional provisional measures," the ICJ's decision reads.