On foot and by donkey cart loaded with belongings, displaced Palestinians seeking safety in Rafah southern Gaza. Half of the Gaza population is sheltering there. Photo credit: WHO
The Hague/Munich: The United States today categorically told Israel that it cannot support a military ground operation in Rafah “without a credible and implementable plan for ensuring the safety of the more than one million people sheltering there”. (Rafah is a Palestinian city in the southern Gaza Strip where about 1.4 million people are believed to be sheltering after the massive bombardment and ground assaults in Gaza City and Khan Yunis by Israel during the ongoing Israel–Hamas war).
In the course of his meeting with Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Munich today, the US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken “emphasized” the need for “all parties” to take feasible measures to protect civilian lives and prevent the conflict from expanding.
“The Secretary also “underscored” the US commitment to lasting peace in the region, including through the establishment of a Palestinian state with security guaranteed for Israel,” the US State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said.
Earlier on February 16, 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) noted that the most recent developments in the Gaza Strip, and Rafah in particular, ‘would exponentially increase what is already a humanitarian nightmare with untold regional consequences’, as stated by the United Nations Secretary-General (Remarks to the General Assembly on priorities for 2024 (February 7, 2024).
In the case concerning the Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip (South Africa versus Israel), the Court considered South Africa’s letter dated February 12, 2024, and Israel’s observations thereon received on February 15, 2024. The Court ruled that the “perilous situation” (in Rafah) demanded immediate and effective implementation of the provisional measures indicated by the Court in its Order of January 26, 2024, “which are applicable throughout the Gaza Strip, including in Rafah, and does not demand the indication of additional provisional measure”s.
The Court emphasized that Israel “remains bound to fully comply with its obligations under the Genocide Convention and with the said Order, including by ensuring the safety and security of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip”.
Also read: War enters fifth month and there is nowhere safe to go in Rafah
It may be mentioned that on December 29, 2023, South Africa filed an Application instituting proceedings against Israel concerning alleged violations by Israel of its obligations under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (the “Genocide Convention”) in relation to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
The Application also contained a request for the indication of provisional measures, pursuant to Article 41 of the Statute of the Court and Articles 73, 74 and 75 of the Rules of Court. The Applicant requested the Court to indicate provisional measures in order to “protect against further, severe and irreparable harm to the rights of the Palestinian people under the Genocide Convention” and “to ensure Israel’s compliance with its obligations under the Genocide Convention not to engage in genocide, and to prevent and to punish genocide”.
Pursuant to Article 74 of the Rules of Court, “[a] request for the indication of provisional measures shall have priority over all other cases”.
Public hearings on the request for the indication of provisional measures submitted by South Africa were held on Thursday 11 and Friday 12 January. On January 26, 2024, the Court delivered its Order on South Africa’s request.
Following the ICJ’s ruling, Secretary Blinken further told President Herzog in Munich today: “We’re thinking of the suffering of people caught up in the middle of conflict, including the Palestinian men, women, and children in Gaza. We’re thinking as well of the genuine opportunities that lie before us for a better, more secure future for Israelis, Palestinians, and all of our friends in the region.”
Earlier on February 12, 2024, on a day when a series of early morning Israeli strikes on Rafah, US President Joe Biden publicly called for Israel to have a plan for civilians in Rafah. The Israeli air strikes caused over 120 civilian deaths and left many injured there. While claiming that it was not its assessment “that this air strike is the launch of a full-scale offensive happening in Rafah”, the US had made it clear that it cannot support any military operation in Rafah “until Israel has developed a humanitarian plan that can be executed, and that they have executed such a plan”. Miller then said, “We just saw, obviously, the order from the prime minister last week to the Israeli military to develop a plan for dealing with Rafah. We look forward to reviewing that plan. We look forward to being briefed on it”.
Miller said on February 13, 2024, “We’ve seen the Government of Israel ask for such a plan to be developed. We think that’s appropriate. And we think that once that plan is developed, it needs to be credible, and it needs to be one that they can actually execute”.
On February 14, 2024, the US also referred to the Hamas battalions “that operate in Rafah, that exist in Rafah, that continue to pose a threat to the national security of Israel, Hamas battalions, part of an organization that attacked Israel and has made clear they want to continue to attack Israel”.
The US had then maintained that “Israel has the right to take military action against those Hamas battalions that pose a threat to it”.
It may be recalled that there was an investigation completed by Amnesty International that evaluated four strikes that took place last year in Rafah and found that those were not legitimate military targets.
Herzog today claimed that Israel was working with the US and the international community on the issue of the humanitarian supply, making sure to upgrade it according to the rules of international humanitarian law whenever and wherever necessary. However, he made it clear that “first and foremost, Israel’s security must be preserved, and for this, we have to complete the work of undermining and eradicating the basic infrastructure of Hamas”.
– global bihari bureau
