ISTANBUL: South Africa on Friday welcomed the International Criminal Court’s (ICJ) decision for Israel to “immediately” implement provisional measures in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.
“The court has affirmed our view that the 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 #GazaStrip and has clarified that this includes #Rafah,” Clayson Monyela, spokesman for the Department of International Relations and Cooperation wrote on X.
“The court notes that 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,” Monyela added.
South Africa brought a genocide case against Israel to the ICJ in late December and asked it to grant emergency measures to end the bloodshed in Gaza, where more than 28,600 Palestinians have been killed since Oct. 7.
The
court on Jan. 26 ordered Israel to take “all measures within its power” to prevent acts of genocide in Gaza but fell short of ordering a cease-fire.
It also ordered Israel to take “immediate and effective” measures to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance in the Gaza Strip but fell short of ordering a cease-fire.
A cross-border incursion by the Palestinian group, Hamas, on Oct. 7 killed less than 1,200 people, but the ensuing Israeli offensive into Gaza has pushed 85% of the territory’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.
Despite international outcry, Israel now plans a ground invasion of Rafah, which holds 1.4 million refugees.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to “fight until complete victory and this includes a powerful action in Rafah.”
Source: Anadolu Agency