Palestinian Territory - New provisional measures issued today by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) are welcomed by Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor. The ICJ has stated that Israel must take all necessary and effective measures to ensure, without delay, and in full cooperation with the United Nations, "the unhindered provision at scale by all concerned of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance" to Palestinians throughout the Gaza Strip.
The fresh ICJ order observes that Palestinians in Gaza are no longer facing only the risk of famine, but that famine is setting in, and that the pre-January catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Strip has further deteriorated. The Court says that its earlier orders did not fully address the consequences arising from the changes in the situation in the Gaza Strip.
According to the ICJ's new order, Israel must ensure the unhindered provision at scale of basic services and humanitarian assistance including food, water, fuel, shelter, clothing, hygiene and sanitation requirements, and medical supplies, plus increase the capacity and number of land crossing points and keep them open for as long as necessary.
Euro-Med Monitor stresses that the ICJ must reaffirm its orders to Israel to refrain from any acts that could fall under the Genocide Convention and ensure its troops commit no genocidal acts against Palestinians in Gaza.
A recent Euro-Med Monitor report titled "Escalation in Genocide and Absence of Accountability: Two Months after the International Court of Justice's Ruling on Gaza"reveals that Israel did not abide by the previous order and continued to commit genocide against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip. The report notes that Israel has, in fact, escalated its violations in the Strip since the ICJ's January ruling.
Based on Euro-Med Monitor's efforts to monitor and document the crimes and violations that Israel has committed in the Gaza Strip, as well as on investigations into and assessments of its level of compliance during the two-month period following the ruling, it is clear that Israel has not complied with the ICJ ruling.
The ICJ issued a decision on 26 January 2024 ordering Israel to take specific provisional measures to prevent the crime of genocide against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip. Stating that it was convinced that Israel's actions in the Strip posed a real and immediate threat to the Palestinian people, the ICJ cited the possibility of irreversible effects and harm to Palestinian rights protected under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
Euro-Med Monitor's report concluded that the majority of the provisional measures outlined in the January ruling were violated, and the crime of genocide was carried out on the same (or greater) scale. Israel has committed various forms and acts of genocide, with the intent of destroying the Palestinian people.
Targeting civilian gatherings around humanitarian aid trucks with direct gunshots, quadcopters, and Israeli tank shells is one of the most well-documented examples of the unlawful killings and executions carried out by the Israeli army against Palestinian civilians over the past few weeks. These incidents, which have become known as the "Flour Massacres", have resulted in the deaths of 563 citizens and the injury of 1,523 others. This figure includes civilians awaiting aid as well as workers who were in charge of planning, securing, and distributing aid.
The Euro-Med Monitor report also addresses the crimes that Israel continued to commit, following the January ruling, with the aim of inflicting severe physical and psychological harm on Palestinians in the Strip, particularly through deprivation of healthcare; torture; inhumane treatment; sexual violence; and the use of prohibited, indiscriminate, and highly destructive weapons.
Furthermore, the report outlines the ongoing crimes committed by Israel aimed at deliberately causing material destruction to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, including forced displacement and starvation—i.e. rendering the area uninhabitable and eradicating the Palestinian identity of the region. This is achieved through the systematic destruction of sources of income; infrastructure; civilian objects; and private property; as well as deliberate military attacks on buildings designated for religious, educational, scientific, and historical purposes; hospitals; and places where patients and wounded people gather. Additionally, Israel persists in committing crimes aimed at destroying the unity of Palestinian families and preventing procreation.
In light of the aforementioned, Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor urges, among other recommendations, the international community to uphold its legal and moral duties to the people living in the Gaza Strip. The international community must guarantee that the International Court of Justice ruling is carried out, and end the genocide that the Court declared in January was likely taking place in the Gaza Strip.
Euro-Med Monitor calls on all states to fulfill their international obligations by halting all military, financial, and political support for Israel's attack against the Palestinian people of the Gaza Strip, and in particular, all arms transfers to Israel. Otherwise, these states will be held accountable for their complicity in Israel's ongoing crimes, including genocide.
