On the ICJ ruling on South Africa’s genocide case against Israel
By Michael Pröbsting, Revolutionary Communist International Tendency (RCIT), 27 January 2024, www.thecommunists.net
The ruling of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on South Africa’s genocide case against Israel is a limited success for the Palestinian people and those supporting its liberation struggle. (1)
It is a success not only because of the provisional measures adopted by the ICJ but, even more, because of the very nature of this institution. The ICJ is not a democratic court under the control of the masses and the oppressed peoples. It is elected by the United Nations – both by the General Assembly as well as the Security Council – which in turn is dominated by imperialist Great Powers. This imperialist domination is also reflected in the fact that the court has 15 judges – symbolically, this is the same number as the members of the UN Security Council – and among these are nearly always judges from its five permanent and veto-wielding member states (U.S., UK, France, China and Russia).
Hence, the ICJ does not rule on the basis of abstract legal or moral principles but on the basis of the interests of the capitalist governments around the globe and, in particular, of the imperialist Great Powers.
However, these governments are sometimes not united but rather divided – capitalism is a system based on competition and rivalry between classes and states. Furthermore, they do not operate within a vacuum and in situations where huge liberation struggles and mass protests take place – as it is currently the case with the unprecedented global pro-Palestine solidarity movement – the governments and even such institutions like the ICJ can come under pressure of the oppressed.
It is such a contradictory web of interests which has determined yesterday’s ruling of the ICJ. It did not order a ceasefire – as the Palestinians and all opponents of the Israeli genocide in Gaza had hoped for. Clearly, the influence of Western imperialists – staunch backers of the Zionist settler state – was strong enough to prevent such a decision which would have been a catastrophe for the Netanyahu government.
Nevertheless, the court’s ruling represents a considerable success for the pro-Palestine movement as it supports – in a mitigated way – several of its most important demands.
First and foremost, the court accepted nearly unanimously – Judge Sebutinde, nominated by the pro-imperialist Ugandan dictatorship was the only one consistently voting against all provisions – South Africa’s accusation that Israel commits a genocide in Gaza is “plausible”. “In the Court’s view, the facts and circumstances mentioned above are sufficient to conclude that at least some of the rights claimed by South Africa and for which it is seeking protection are plausible. This is the case with respect to the right of the Palestinians in Gaza to be protected from acts of genocide and related prohibited acts identified in Article III, and the right of South Africa to seek Israel’s compliance with the latter’s obligations under the Convention.” (§ 54)
Furthermore, it ruled that Israel must “prevent and punish” all acts constituting such genocide. “The State of Israel shall, in accordance with its obligations under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, in relation to Palestinians in Gaza, take all measures within its power to prevent the commission of all acts within the scope of Article II of this Convention, in particular: (a) killing members of the group; (b) causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; (c) deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; and (d) imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group. (…) The State of Israel shall ensure with immediate effect that its military does not commit any acts described in point 1 above.” (§ 86)
In other words, the ICJ ruled that Israel must stop its indiscriminate killing, expelling, and starving out of the Palestinians in Gaza.
Likewise, the court ruled that Israel must “prevent and punish (…) incitement to commit genocide”. “The State of Israel shall take all measures within its power to prevent and punish the direct and public incitement to commit genocide in relation to members of the Palestinian group in the Gaza Strip.”
In addition, the ICJ orders the Zionist state to “enable the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance” to the Palestinian people. “The State of Israel shall take immediate and effective measures to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance to address the adverse conditions of life faced by Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.”
Finally, the court also compelled Israel to “submit a report to the Court on all measures taken to give effect to this Order within one month.”
It is evident that Israel can not implement these provisions without accepting a ceasefire. In other words, Israel will inevitably violate all these provisions which, in turn, will massively increase pressure by the world public on Netanyahu and his last remaining friends in Western capitals.
It is hardly surprising that Israel’s government – in contrast to most other countries in the world – is enraged about the ICJ’s ruling. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu slammed the decision as “outrageous”. “Defence” Minister Gallant said in a statement that ”those who seek justice, will not find it on leather seats in the Hague.” Even the liberal opposition leader Lapid said: “The Hague Court should have rejected South Africa’s bogus petition outright.” (2)
My comrade Yossi Schwartz in Israel / Occupied Palestine has rightly made the following judgement of the courts’ ruling. “The injunctions by the ICJ in Hague is a diplomatic victory for the Palestinians even though the Court did not issue an injunction for a total cease fire. However, the injunctions that were issued will make it more difficult for Israel to continue with the massacres in Gaza as it was ordered to provide in one month the information what has been done to protect the lives of the Palestinians. The court did not order the release of the captive Israelis.” (3)
Indeed, the ICJ ruling creates further obstacles for Israel’s genocidal war and will encourage the global mass movement in solidarity with the Palestinian people. At the same time, it is clear that the court in itself is impotent, and Israel will ignore its ruling, i.e. it will continue its massacre in Gaza.
There is a popular saying which exists, in one form or another, in many parts of the world: Heaven Helps Those Who Help Themselves. And so it is!
We must not wait for the ICJ, the UN or the Great Powers to stop Israel’s genocide. It is only us, it is only the popular masses which can defeat the Zionist monster! The heroic liberation fighters in Gaza, the courageous brothers from the Houthis in Yemen, the global solidarity movement – together we must, we can, and we will defeat the colonial Herrenmenschen in Tel Aviv and their Western imperialist backers!
Unity – Struggle – Victory
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We refer readers to a special page on our website where all RCIT documents on the 2023 Gaza War are compiled, https://www.thecommunists.net/worldwide/africa-and-middle-east/compilation-of-articles-on-the-gaza-uprising-2023/.
Footnotes
1) International Court of Justice: Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip (South Africa v. Israel), Order, 26 January 2024. The paragraphs (§) cited in this article refer to this document.
2) For more quotes and sources see the article by my comrade Yossi Schwartz: Critical Support for the Injunction of the ICJ, 26.01.2024, https://the-isleague.com/critical-support-for-the-injunction-of-the-icj/
3) Ibid