Following the failed attempts in the European Parliament and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe to call for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire to stop the whitewashing and justifying of murder and oppression, the UEL welcomes positive news from the Hague where on January 26 the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered Israel to take action to prevent acts of genocide that could fall under the Genocide Convention and ensure its troops commit no genocidal acts in Gaza where Israel wages war against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.
Even though the United Nations court for handling disputes between states stopped short of calling for an immediate ceasefire in the case brought by South Africa, it required Israel to submit a report to the court on the steps it has taken to comply with the orders within one month of the ruling. The court will examine in detail the merits of the case, a process which could take years. While the ICJ’s decisions are final and without appeal, it has no way to enforce them.
The UEL joins the UN, ICJ, the EP and PACE calls on Israel, an observer state to the Council of Europe, the leading human rights organisation in Europe, to take measures to improve the dire humanitarian situation for Palestinian civilians in the enclave and calls on Hamas for the immediate release of hostages held in Gaza.
Click here for the intervention on behalf of the UEL group in the debate on “Recent developments in the Middle East: Hamas’ terrorist attack on Israel and Israel’s response.”