THE INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE & OUR INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS SHOULD BE NEUTRAL
(The cartoon by Gai Morad highlights a problem with the ICJ decision.)
Lady Justice
Justice must be “blind.” Lady Justice is often represented as being blindfolded as she “weighs” Justice.
It is harmful to society when any court is not fair or neutral. If that court is weighing international issues, every imbalance and bias they ignore affects us all.
The ICJ just released its decision in the “Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip (South Africa v. Israel)” after the Republic of South Africa [RSA] alleged that Israel is conducting a genocide in Gaza.
This decision is one-sided and favours HAMAS — a terrorist organization which has vowed to eradicate Israel, waged war on Israel though rape & murder, and is still holding hostages of multiple nationalities.
Israel is in an existential fight — our turn may be coming. Once they start coming for the Jews, the Christians are often next.
The ICJ Judgement
The ICJ made five orders:
Taken in isolation, these orders are intended for the possible short-term benefit of Palestinian civilians — that is not sufficient. The Court must address the larger, longer-term issues affecting Palestinian civilians, especially from the actions of the terrorist organization, HAMAS.
These orders do not put even one requirement onto Hamas!
(Curiously, there is an order from 26 January 2024 binding the Republic of South Africa against genocide!)
Without one word of censure on HAMAS, the Court is indirectly supporting the continued oppression of Palestinian civilians by this terrorist organization and their continued hostility towards Israel. Surely, this is unjust and untenable?
The summary of the January 26 ICJ Order:
https://icj-cij.org/sites/default/files/case-related/192/192-20240126-sum-01-00-en.pdf
The summary of the March 28 ICJ order:
https://icj-cij.org/sites/default/files/case-related/192/192-20240328-pre-01-00-en.pdf
The 18-page May 24# ICJ judgement is here:
https://www.icj-cij.org/sites/default/files/case-related/192/192-20240524-ord-01-00-en.pdf
The May 24# ICJ press release:
https://www.icj-cij.org/sites/default/files/case-related/192/192-20240524-pre-01-00-en.pdf
The May 24# summary:
https://www.icj-cij.org/sites/default/files/case-related/192/192-20240524-sum-01-00-en.pdf
HAMAS is missing from the ICJ decision
Most accept that HAMAS is a terrorist group which has controlled Gaza for years. HAMAS precipitated this conflict through the revolting events of 10:7# (HAMAS is mentioned only 5 times in the General Comments and mostly “in Israel’s view…”)
ICJ made no order that Hamas must return remaining hostages.
ICJ made no order that Hamas must return the bodies of dead hostages (or, indicate their location.)
ICJ made no order that Hamas must stop all military action.
ICJ made no order for Hamas to stop taking the emergency supplies which are intended for the civilian population.
ICJ made no order that Hamas must desist from using civilians as shields.
ICJ made no order for Hamas to desist from using civilian buildings such as schools & hospitals for military operations.
ICJ did not denounce the atrocities of October 7# (nor require Hamas to renounce the threat of future attack/s.)
ICJ is not requiring an investigation into Hamas’ activities (which include the horrific rape and murder of peaceful civilians and the abuse of the Palestinian people.)
ICJ made no order for the Hamas leadership to return the stolen BILLIONS of dollars intended for the civilians of Gaza.
HAMAS is the primary aggressor. How is the ICJ decision fair to the Palestinian civilians?
Without involving HAMAS, how can this judgment possibly lead to peace?
The Accuser
It is peculiar to me that an uninvolved state like the RSA can make such an allegation, especially while there is ongoing murder of white farmers in their own country.
“Since 2007, at the direction of the government, South African police have stopped releasing statistics about the race of the victims.”
This RSA involvement is so peculiar that it looks suspicious for “outside influences.”
The International Court of Justice
“The International Court of Justice, is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations.”
The United Nations shows bias against Israel, year after year. For example, in 2022 there were 15 General Assembly resolutions censuring Israel:
Fifteen UN motions against Israel and NOT ONE against China; Saudi Arabia; Venezuela; Iraq; Cuba; Pakistan; Algeria or Hamas:…Really?
It seems clear that the ICJ is following the lead taken by the UN.
Urban Warfare
All civilian casualties in urban warfare are dreadful. Statistics are often weak because the dead do not speak.
Below is a table from “Estimating the Number of Civilian Casualties in Modern Armed Conflicts–A Systematic Review” published 2021 in Frontiers in Public Health.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8581199/
Using these figures it appears that most every conflict can be considered a Genocide — including American campaigns like the Vietnam, Gulf and Iraqi wars.
Israeli Response
Current figures of death and injury are difficult to assess because Hamas is prone to exaggeration, and they do not specify how many of their own combatants have been killed. (Hamas combatants are dressing in civilian clothing.) The Washington Institute reported that “Gaza Fatality Data Has Become Completely Unreliable”, March 2024.
In Afghanistan the number was probably 7-9 civilian deaths per combatant death. In Gaza it is likely as low as 1-2 civilian deaths per combatant. Every death is a tragedy…but this is far from a genocide being one of the lowest ratio’s of civilian deaths in modern urban warfare.
The question of JUSTICE
Our international bodies must provide balanced, fair — blind — decisions.
Israel and the Palestinian people and the hostages have rights also.
Silence
The ICJ decision should worry every Christian — we may be next.
This reminds me of Lutheran minister Martin Niemöller’s 1946 poem in which he accuses himself, German intellectuals and the German clergy of silence in the face of patent atrocities before and during WWII.
If we do not speak out, we will be guilty of what comes next. Silence is complicity.
Conclusion
This article is not in support of war — I pray for LASTING PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST. This would be great for the world.
I support proper neutrality in our major international organizations — especially the United Nations; World Health Organization and the International Court of Justice.
Justice must be blind.
The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author &
do not necessarily represent the policy or position of Catholic Arena.
Kevin Hay
You can follow Kevin on 𝕏 / Twi𝕏 / Twitter @kevinhay77