CAIRO – 26 January 2024: A new breakthrough in the situation in Gaza took place on Friday after the internationally-welcomed provisional measures which were ruled by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the case filed upon a request from South Africa against Israel over the latter's genocide against the Palestinians.
Unfortunately, despite the ‘strong symbolic meaning’ the of the ruling that came in favor of Gaza, there was no calling for a ceasefire or immediate halting of the violence acts that killed so far nearly 26.000 civilian mostly women and children according to the Palestinian ministry of health.
Egypt has welcomed the ICJ ruling in a Friday statement, however, the Foreign Ministry said that Egypt was looking forward to requesting the ICJ to demand an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, as the Court ruled in similar cases, as a main guarantee for the implementation of the necessary and emergency measures it approved to protect Palestinian civilians in Gaza sector.
Egypt called on Israel to immediately implement all measures contained in the decision of the ICJ, which represents the beginning of the path to enforcing the rules of international law and humanitarian law.
Egypt highlighted the need to respect and implement the decisions of the ICJ as the main judicial body of the United Nations.
Furthermore, Egypt stressed the continuation of movements and communications in cooperation with the United Nations agencies and international and regional parties, in order to end the crisis, prevent any measures targeting the forced displacement of Palestinians, and ensure the entry of urgent humanitarian and relief aid into the enclave.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled by a majority of 16 against 1 (Uganda):
• Israel shall take all necessary measures to prevent acts of genocide against Palestinians, especially murder - physical and psychological abuse – prevent imposing conditions conducive to genocide or imposing conditions to prevent birth.
• Israel has to prevent and punish incitement to commit the crime of genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza
• Israel has to ensure Immediate provision of life-saving humanitarian aid and services to Palestinians in Gaza
• The court also ruled for preserving and preventing the destruction of evidence of genocidal acts
• Israel has to submit a response to the court within 1 month
• All parties shall be bound by international humanitarian law
• The court calls for the release of Hamas-held hostages in Gaza
In a statement by European Union following the ICJ ruling, it said that it expects Israel and Hamas to fully comply with the rulings of the International Court of Justice.
The EU reaffirmed its continuing support to the ICJ, noting that “orders of the International Court of Justice are binding on the Parties and they must comply with them. The EU expects their full, immediate and effective implementation.”
The international ruling places Israel under the ‘international spotlight’ and not complying to It will increase the possibility of international condemnation and place it in an ‘internationally embarrassing position’.
According to the issued ruling, Israel has to submit a response to the court within 1 month to explain the developments in the situation in Gaza, in a real ‘challenging and internationally pressing situation’ over the Israeli authority.
Meanwhile, Egypt is continuing to offer all it can to help ‘brothers in Gaza’. President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi said on Wednesday that the Egypt is intensifying its efforts to achieve ceasefire in Gaza Strip, release hostages, and begin the reconstruction.
He added during meeting with number of media figures on the sidelines of the celebration of the 72nd Police Day, that Egypt always seeks to achieve stability and ensure that conflict does not expand in the region.
"We are naturally keen to ‘extinguish fires and not igniting them’. We always strive not to expand the war, and the results of the four months of war have exhausted everyone and been harsh on everyone, and we are sending messages to everyone not to let things get out of control any further.” Sisi said.
In statements to the spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ahmed Abu Zeid last Wednesday to Al-Arabiya he stated that Egypt is persistently working towards reaching a ceasefire in Gaza. However, the ministry has highlighted that Israel's imposition of "unreasonable conditions" has made it currently unattainable.
“There are prohibitive conditions for ceasing fire and a lack of political will from the Israeli government and decision-makers,” Ahmed Abu Zeid said.
Abu Zeid also noted that the ceasefire remains out of reach due to the UN Security Council's inability to explicitly call for a ceasefire and the absence of a clear and unified international stance.
“The positions of the United States and some European countries are still ambiguous regarding the ceasefire, and as long as such situation persists, we are still far from achieving this goal,” added Abu Zeid.
The spokesman affirmed that the Rafah border crossing remains open throughout the day and emphasized that any delays in humanitarian aid are the responsibility of the Israeli side. He strongly denied any attempts by Israel to accuse Egypt in this regard.
Abu Zeid described the Israeli accusations as “efforts to create confusion and distort the truth,” stressing that Egypt has no interest in obstructing the entry of aid.
“Obstructing aid would lead to further exacerbation of the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, something that Egypt absolutely does not want,” stated Abu Zeid.
The spokesman emphasized that the Israeli side is attempting to exploit the daily suffering of the Palestinian people for political gain, aiming to achieve its objectives in Gaza.
Abu Zeid reiterated Egypt's stance on the necessity of achieving a ceasefire, expediting the delivery of humanitarian aid, and firmly rejecting the displacement of Palestinians from their lands.
He also affirmed the need to resolve the Palestinian cause in a manner that guarantees the establishment of an independent Palestinian state and conducts the peace process within a specified and limited timeframe.
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