FM: John Whitbeck
The International Court of Justice has just ordered Israel to
(i) immediately halt its military offensive in the Rafah
governorate, (ii) maintain open the Rafah crossing to permit the
unhindered provision of humanitarian assistance at scale and
(iii) ensure unhindered access to the Gaza Strip for any
investigative body mandated by the UN to investigate allegations
of genocide.
All votes were 13-2, with only the Ugandan judge, who has voted
in Israel's favor on all prior rulings in the current genocide
case, and the ad hoc Israeli judge casting negative
votes.
Of course, Israel will ignore this ruling and its fellow outlaw
state will veto any UN Security Council resolution demanding
compliance with these legally binding orders of the ICJ and
non-assistance to any state which is in non-compliance.
It remains to be seen whether the U.S. Congress will see fit to
add sanctions against the ICJ, its non-Ugandan judges and their
family members to its planned sanctions against the ICC, its
prosecutor and his family.