Pakistan on Saturday welcomed the additional provisional measures by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordering Israel to immediately halt its military offensive in Rafah in conformity with its obligations under the Genocide Convention and the worsening deteriorating humanitarian conditions faced by civilians.
Pakistan supports the application filed by South Africa before the ICJ against Israel under the 1948 Genocide Convention, in follow up to which the Court has announced additional provisional measures, a statement issued by the ForeignOffice said.
As required by the latest ruling of ICJ, Israeli occupation authorities should keep the Rafah crossing open for unhindered provision of humanitarian assistance, and ensure unimpeded access to the Gaza Strip of any commission of inquiry, fact-finding mission or other investigative body mandated by the United Nations to investigate allegations of genocide.
Pakistan demands immediate and unconditional implementation of the latest orders of the ICJ as well as the previous orders of 26 January and 28 March, the statement added.
“We call on the UN Security Council to play its role in ending Israel’s ongoing brutal military campaign across Gaza; allowing unhindered flow of humanitarian assistance; taking effective measures to protect civilians in Gaza; and holding Israel accountable for its crimes.”
Pakistan reaffirms its unwavering support for the inalienable right to self-determination of the Palestinians for a viable, secure, contiguous and sovereign State of Palestine on the basis of the pre-1967 borders and with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital, the foreign office added.
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Judges at the UN’s top court will rule on Friday on South Africa’s request to order Israel to halt its Rafah offensive and withdraw from Gaza, part of a wider case accusing Israel of genocide.
South Africa’s lawyers asked the court last week to impose emergency measures, and said Israel’s attacks on the southern Gaza city “must be stopped” to ensure the survival of the Palestinian people.
Rulings by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), also known as the World Court, are final and binding, but have been ignored in the past. The court has no enforcement powers.
Israel has repeatedly dismissed the accusations of genocide as baseless. It has argued in court that the operations in Gaza are self defence and targeted at Hamas militants who attacked Israel on Oct 7.
An Israeli government spokesman said on Thursday that “no power on Earth will stop Israel from protecting its citizens and going after Hamas in Gaza”.
An Israeli military spokesman said the army is operating “carefully and precisely” in Rafah, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have sought refuge from Israeli bombing and operations elsewhere in the Palestinian enclave.
A decision against Israel by the highest UN legal body could pile more diplomatic pressure on the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Several European countries said on Wednesday they would recognise a Palestinian state, and the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) – also based in The Hague – announced on Monday he had filed an application for arrest warrants against Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as leaders of Hamas.
The ICC prosecutes individuals for alleged war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, while the ICJ is the highest UN body for disputes between states.
The ICJ has previously rejected Israel’s demand to throw out the overall case. The court has ordered it to prevent acts of genocide against the Palestinians and allow aid to flow, while stopping short of ordering a halt to Israeli military operations.
Israel launched its assault on Gaza after Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and seizing more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. More than 35,000 Palestinians have since been killed in the offensive, Gaza’s health ministry says.
