ICJ Discredits Itself in Ruling against Israel

National Review Online

Friday, January 26, 2024

 

Two news events on Friday morning should completely discredit the international effort to turn Israel into a pariah state.

 

First, the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to exercise more restraint in Gaza after concluding that “at least some” of Israel’s actions in response to the October 7 Hamas attacks are “capable” of falling within the boundaries of the Genocide Convention. The decision relied heavily on information from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) concerning conditions in Gaza. Shortly thereafter, in a separate but intertwined statement, UNRWA dismissed twelve of its employees after being presented with strong evidence that they were involved in the October 7 attacks.

 

The ICJ decision stems from a complaint brought by South Africa that accused Israel of committing genocide and demanded an immediate cease-fire. Actually proving genocide requires a very high bar and years of litigation, because the accusing party must show that there was an “intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.” So, the court did not rule on the merits of the case this time. However, the justices concluded that there was enough of a theoretical possibility that the Genocide Convention could apply to some Israeli actions that they refused to dismiss the case. Additionally, while avoiding a call for cease-fire, the court argued that current efforts by Israel to protect civilians from harm were “insufficient,” and so they demanded that Israel take more steps to ensure it is in compliance with the Genocide Convention.

 

As we previously argued, the case against Israel is morally bankrupt. On October 7, terrorists based in Gaza invaded Israel and massacred more than 1,200 people ranging from babies to the elderly; set houses on fire; raped women; and kidnapped hundreds of civilians. Hamas still holds civilian hostages and still fires rockets at Israeli civilians, including on the day that the ICJ decision was being announced. Israel set out to destroy Hamas so that the October 7 atrocities can never be repeated — and all of the actions it has taken in Gaza are proportionate to its war aims. Israel has sought to minimize civilian casualties and has allowed for the flow of humanitarian aid when fighting against an enemy that hides behind civilians and steals humanitarian aid.

 

But the decision exposed as a farce the entire system of international law and government. The ICJ is an offshoot of the United Nations, which has a history of disproportionately targeting Israel for condemnation relative to the likes of Syria, North Korea, Iran, Russia, and China. Friday’s decision relies on information gathered from other branches of the U.N. that ultimately defer to Hamas.

 

For instance, in citing casualty numbers in Gaza, the court acknowledges “figures relating to the Gaza Strip cannot be independently verified,” and yet goes on to cite the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs anyway. But the UNCHA derives its data from Hamas, which has an obvious interest in exaggerating death tolls and a record of doing so. In October, the terrorist group infamously claimed that 500 people were killed in an Israeli strike on a hospital when in actuality it was a misfired terrorist rocket, and the death toll, though still unclear, is widely acknowledged to be much lower. Also, in its reports, Hamas does not properly break down which of the deaths were of terrorists and which were of civilians.

 

In addition, the ICJ decision in multiple places relies on reports from UNRWA on humanitarian conditions inside Gaza. But UNRWA has a long history of being controlled by Hamas in Gaza — including its schools, which incite hatred of Israel. UNRWA teachers celebrated the attacks on social media, and, as UN Watch noted, “Hamas weapons and tunnels have been found in or under UNRWA schools, including under UNRWA crates and in UNRWA sacks and Hamas has attacked from inside UNRWA schools.” Throughout the war, UNRWA has been a reliable source of Hamas talking points — and now, the organization has been forced to admit that some of its staffers participated in the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust.

 

The ICJ ruling will have little impact on the ground. The court has no enforcement mechanism, and because it stopped short of calling for an outright cease-fire, it will merely add to the pile of arguments over whether Israel is doing enough to protect civilian lives.

 

But critics had hoped that a ruling against Israel would prove to be a stain on the Jewish state. Instead, it is a permanent stain on the credibility of the court.