International Court of Justice

The UN International Court of Justice (ICJ), on Friday, heard the response from Israel on the case brought forward by South Africa requesting emergency provisional measures to immediately halt Israeli military operations under way in Rafah, in southern Gaza, where over one million Palestinians were sheltering after having been displaced from elsewhere in the enclave.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) began public hearings on Thursday stemming from South Africa’s recent request for emergency provisional measures to immediately halt Israeli operations under way in Rafah, in southern Gaza, where more than one million Palestinians were sheltering during the seven-month-long war in the besieged enclave.

“Here are the choices: ethnic cleansing, apartheid or genocide,” said Palestine’s foreign minister at the opening of public hearings at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) this week, with a record 52 States and three international organizations providing comments and presentations on a case based on the UN General Assembly’s request for an advisory opinion on legal consequences arising from Israel’s policies and practices in Occupied Palestinian Territory.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has been placed firmly in the global spotlight this month following South Africa’s decision to turn to the world tribunal after accusing Israel of violating its obligations under the Genocide Convention. Here is a primer on the ICJ and what it does.

The General Assembly and the Security Council on Thursday elected five judges to serve on the International Court of Justice, the principal judicial organ of the United Nations.