GNITN - Special Edition

Israel At War – Day 231

A Spine Of Steel Needed

ICJ Orders Halt To Rafah Offensive

In a move that was expected, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered that Israel stop the offensive into Rafah as we read in a report from i24news.tv:

The International Court of Justice issued a ruling on Friday ordering Israel to implement a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip as the IDF presses on with its offensive in Rafah.

Israel, who isn’t a signatory to follow any ruling is not likely to stop fighting in the Gaza Strip at all:

An Israeli government spokesperson said on Thursday that "no force on the face of the earth will prevent Israel from defending its citizens and pursuing Hamas in Gaza." Accordingly, since Israel is not expected to comply with the court order, the Security Council is expected to convene within a few days to discuss the matter.

The ruling does appear to give Israel a way to justify not fighting as we read in an article from The Times Of Israel:

“Israel must immediately halt its military offensive, and any other action in the Rafah governorate, which may inflict on the Palestinian group in Gaza conditions of life that could bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part,” the ruling stated.

According to the interpretation of four judges on the court, this order was not a direct and total order to stop the Rafah operation, but rather a limited order instructing Israel not to violate the Genocide Convention in that military campaign.

Interestingly enough, the Israel Defense Force (IDF) is already doing just that so why the need to issue a ruling at all? Hamas, on the other hand is violating it over and over again, and yet no ruling came down to tell them the same thing.

I Don’t Think It Means What You Think It Means

With a nod to some of the banter from one of my favorite movies, The Princess Bride, the judges chimed in to clarify the ruling:

Ad Hoc Judge Aharon Barak, appointed by Israel, wrote in his dissenting opinion to the ruling that the court had once again rejected South Africa’s request to order Israel to “cease its military operations in the Gaza Strip” and that the court order “requires Israel to halt its military offensive in the Rafah Governorate only in so far as is necessary to comply with Israel’s obligations under the Genocide Convention (emphasis in the original).” The Romanian judge, Bogdan Aurescu, also supported this interpretation.

The only other judge to vote against the measure also added her view:

ICJ Vice President Julia Sebutinde (Uganda) warned against misunderstanding the court’s directive as requiring an Israeli ceasefire in Rafah. The measure “only operates to partially restrict Israel’s offensive in Rafah to the extent it implicates rights under the Genocide Convention,” she wrote.

She cautioned: “… this directive may be misunderstood as mandating a unilateral ceasefire in Rafah and amounts to micromanaging the hostilities in Gaza by restricting Israel’s ability to pursue its legitimate military objectives, while leaving its enemies, including Hamas, free to attack without Israel being able to respond.”

What we do know is that the order could be seen as demanding that the war stop period and the South African judge sees it differently than others:

Judge Dire Tladi of South Africa — who voted in favor of the court orders –wrote in his declaration, however, that the court, “in explicit terms, ordered the State of Israel to halt its offensive in Rafah” and also that it “does not permit the continuation of the military operation… elsewhere in the Gaza Strip.”

What we also know is that Hamas has plenty of ways to make thing more difficult for the IDF going forward with this ruling. They will undoubtedly portray every loss of life to be genocidal and will disguise all its soldiers as civilians to make it look like Israel is targeting innocent lives. And they will continue to hide in places where civilians work and worship in the hopes that the IDF will not aggressively target those places. I will say it again, if this court was consistent it would have issued the same orders to Hamas and all of Iran’s proxies fighting against Israel. Will they? I would be surprised if they did. The spirit of antisemitism is thick inside the ICJ.

Israeli Leaders Weigh In

As we see in a report from The Jerusalem Post world leaders both inside and outside of Israel are none too pleased by the ruling:

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, fellow members of Knesset, and Jewish organizations around the world expressed their shock and disappointment following the ICJ's ruling on Friday, demanding the IDF halt all operations in Rafah.

In response to these rulings, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said: "The irrelevant order of the antisemitic court in The Hague should have only one answer: the occupation of Rafah, the increase of military pressure and the complete destruction of Hamas - until the complete victory in the war is achieved."

Another high ranking leader added his two cents worth:

Strategic affairs Minister, Ron Dermer, said, "That Jews are treated differently is not a new story but a more than 2,000 year old story that is based on ancient hatred. Every year, the Human Rights Council passes more resolutions against Israel than all the other countries in the world combined."

"What the ICJ prosecutor has done will fuel the fires of antisemitism, which is raging across the world, because people will assume the charges carry weight. But the charges are totally false and the prosecutor didn’t even bother to learn the facts," Dermer stated.

A director who studies antisemitism aimed his words at the ring leader of the charges against Israel in the ICJ:

Dr. Charles Asher Small, Executive Director of the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP), issued the following statement in response to the ICJ ruling: "The ICJ's ruling is a stark reminder of how South Africa, which has become a hub for extremist activities across the African continent, continues to embrace antisemitic ideologies and support state-sponsored terror."

Small elaborated on his comments:

Small continued to say, "Maintaining close ties with and acting on behalf of Iran, Qatar and Hamas, South Africa has become a leading voice for terror. By bringing this case against Israel and in favour of Hamas, South Africa further positions itself as a bad actor on the global stage. The time has come for the international community to recognize and address South Africa's alarming connections with terror-supporting states and entities."

And a former spokesperson for Israel, Eylon Levy posted on X this:

Hamas is holding 125 hostages, presumably many in Rafah. The ICJ has just told Israel it’s not allowed to try to save them and must relinquish military leverage. This is not justice. This is a travesty of justice.

International Leaders Also Speak Up

On X we hear from a US senator, Linday Graham who used some colorful language to lodge his displeasure with the orders:

As far as I’m concerned, the ICJ can go to hell.

It is long past time to stand up to these so-called international justice organizations associated with the UN. Their anti-Israel bias is overwhelming.

The ICJ’s ruling that Israel should stop operations that are necessary to destroy four battalions of Hamas killers and terrorists - who use Palestinians as human shields - is ridiculous.

This will and should be ignored by Israel.

Another US politician, Representative Steve Scalise gave his opinion, again on X:

Our ally Israel is fighting in Rafah to free the hostages and destroy Hamas’ last stronghold. They must complete this mission.

The ICJ is blinded by anti-Israel bias. Biden must commit to vetoing any UN Security Council resolution that would enforce this outrageous decision.

Across the pond, a British organization added this from the Jerusalem Post article cited previously:

Britain's National Jewish Assembly condemned the ICJ's decision "vehemently," arguing that the decision was "born out of ignorance and devoid of any practical enforcement mechanism, only serves to embolden terrorist organisations and undermine the principles of international law and justice."

“The ICJ’s ruling is not only a grave misstep but a direct affront to justice and morality,” said Gary Mond, Chairman of the NJA. “By undermining Israel’s right to defend its citizens against a genocidal terrorist organisation, the ICJ is not promoting peace but rather denying Israel’s ability to defend its people and territory. This decision must be condemned by all who value truth and justice.”

The NJA also said this:

The NJA further charged that the "ICJ’s ruling exacerbates the humanitarian crisis in Gaza" as "[h]alting military operations against Hamas will not lead to peace but will prolong the suffering of both Israelis and Palestinians.

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem specifically in light of this action. Pray that the pressure added to Israel will be met with its leadership strengthening their already spine of steel.