The US and the UK could be charged with 'participation' in genocide if the ICJ order is ignored
The legal expert of the International Center of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) has said, the decision issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to order the Zionist regime of Israel to stop its military invasion against the city of Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip is the right step, but the important issue right now is to respect the implementation of that decision.
The legal expert of the International Center of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) has said, the decision issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to order the Zionist regime of Israel to stop its military invasion against the city of Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip is the right step, but the important issue right now is to respect the implementation of that decision.
Zaki Sarraf has indicated the Western powers that defend the Zionist regime and continue to support it by saying that Israel's allies such as the United States and the United Kingdom, should not continue to be involved in what is being done by that regime. In the sense that selling arms to Israel should be stopped immediately; and those countries should not give diplomatic immunity to a major violation of international law by the administration such as voting to veto any resolution of the United Nations Security Council that orders the implementation of the ICJ order.
The legal expert of the International Center for Palestinian Justice has continued to warn that, if those countries continue to support Israel and prevent attempts to hold the Zionist regime accountable, they will face the real risk of being prosecuted for "participation in genocide" defined in Article Article III of the Genocide Convention.
He explained by saying: "if countries like the United States and the United Kingdom give diplomatic immunity or if they give political immunity or if they continue to sell arms to Israel, this may be tantamount to being involved in what the ICJ has already judged to be genocide against the Palestinians ".
Sarraf has added by saying: "Israel has shown complete and utter disregard for international law and ICJ's previous orders, so the next step after the issuance of this decision is to follow and respect the law".../
The International Court of Justice based in The Hague, Netherlands, which is the highest judicial body of the United Nations, decided on Friday, May 24, that Israel must stop "immediately" its military attacks in Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip.
The court ordered with 13 votes in favor and 2 votes against, the immediate suspension of military operations of the Zionist regime in Rafah and the reopening of the Rafah crossing for the entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. Due to the continuing crimes of the Zionist regime against the oppressed citizens of Gaza, South Africa last week asked the International Court of Justice ICJ to order Israel to immediately stop the sabotage against Rafah as an emergency measure and emphasized that, Israel's actions in the area southern Gaza is a "genocide" that threatens the lives of the Palestinian people. Earlier, South Africa had accused Israel of violating the UN convention on "Genocide."
The International Court of Justice said that its decision is important in ensuring that the lives of the Palestinian people are protected. Judge Nawaf Salam, the head of the International Court of Justice, said that South Africa asked the court to take additional measures due to the severe sabotage of the military operations of the hostile Israeli regime in Rafah. According to his statement and in accordance with the Convention on the Prevention of Genocide, any Israeli operation in Rafah may cause damage to a certain or large extent in that city, so Israel must immediately stop its military attacks in Rafah.
Even if this international judicial body can issue legal decisions to resolve disputes between countries, it does not have the ability to implement them in practice. Despite this, his decision against the Zionist regime has increased the diplomatic pressure against the violent regime. The point to be noted is that immediately after the decision was issued, the illegal Israeli regime attacked one of the refugee camps in Rafah to show that the court's decision has no meaning for it.
Israel's criminal actions in the Gaza war, especially the genocide against the people of the strip, made South Africa, one of the countries that strongly criticize the crimes of the Zionist regime, to sue the regime in the International Court of Justice ICJ in December 2023 for violating the "Convention of Genocide," a move that has been supported by dozens of other countries around the world.
The Arab League has also emphasized its full support for the charges filed by South Africa against the Zionist regime before the International Court of Justice for committing genocide and violating the Convention on the Prohibition of Genocide of 1948. Also experts and lecturers of international law issues 200 have announced their support for South Africa against the Zionist regime.
Currently, the recent judgment issued by the ICJ court to stop the military operations of the Zionist regime in Rafah has been well received by the country as well as regional and international institutions.
The Hamas movement has also welcomed the verdict and said it expects that the court will issue an order to stop the war in the entire Gaza Strip and not only Rafah and wants it to pressure the Zionist regime to implement it immediately.
The important issue is about the position of the United Nations regarding the new decision of the International Court of Justice. Antonio Guterres, the Secretary General of the United Nations, stressed on Friday that the ICJ court's judgment on Israel to stop military operations in Rafah is "compulsory" and that all parties should implement it without wasting time.
It is clear that the United States will oppose the decision through its veto in the Security Council as it has been doing in relation to any draft resolution that criticizes Israel.
Of course, taking into account the position of the European Union, it is already clear that there is a difference of opinion between Brussels and Washington regarding the decision of the International Court of Justice on Rafah. Janes Lonarcic, Commissioner for Conflict Management of the European Union has insisted on the implementation of the judgment of the court regarding the cessation of military operations in Rafah and said: "The judgment of the International Court of Justice for Israel to stop the war must be implemented, so relevant parties should respect it." And Josep Burrell, Head of Foreign Policy of the European Union, has also discussed the judgment and said that the European Union must choose one of two, either to support international institutions or to support Israel.
The important point is that despite the threats and opposition of the United States as a strategic partner of Israel against international judicial institutions and even threatening to impose sanctions on the staff of those institutions if they issue decisions that are against the Zionist regime, but the actions taken recently by those institutions, including the ICC and ICJ courts against Israel, clearly confirm that Washington will face serious problems internationally in carrying out those threats, and thus continue to be isolated in the region and internationally.
