THE IMPERATIVE OF GAZA CEASEFIRE
The ICJ ruling is a wake-up call
Last Friday’s ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that Israel must “take all measures within its power” to prevent all acts within the scope of the Genocide Convention presents another opportunity for a ceasefire in Gaza. The ruling was based on the nine provisional measures requested by South Africa in its genocide claim against Israel. Although the court did not agree to South Africa’s request for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, we believe that it is the best thing to do in the circumstances. Whatever Israel may be trying to achieve in Gaza, the aftermath will be deeper hate, greater violence, and a further deferment of the much-needed peace in the region.
We must commend the bold judicial diplomacy of South Africa on this issue. “The imminent risk of death, harm and destruction that Palestinians in Gaza face today, and that they risk every day during the pendency of these proceedings, on any view justifies — indeed compels — the indication of provisional measures,” South Africa’s lawyer, Blinne Ní Ghrálaigh, told the court. “Some might say that the very reputation of international law — its ability and willingness to bind and to protect all peoples equally — hangs in the balance.”
It is noteworthy that the current Israeli military operation in Gaza started with the 7th October 2023 killing of about 1300 Israelis and abduction of more than 250 others in an attack that stands condemned. But the response of the Israelis has exceeded proportionality. The justifiable right to self-defence has tipped over into the territory of reckless abuse of human rights. We are now witnessing a wanton display of superior fire power and the arrogance of might without due regard for the lives of innocent women and children. Incidentally, the only path to Israel’s peace and security is through facilitating an independent Palestinian state next door. The extremities of the current operation make that end even more distant; hence we join the global call for an immediate ceasefire followed by an honest quest for enduring peace.
The United Nations mandate to partition Palestine “into two independent States, one Palestinian Arab and the other Jewish, with Jerusalem internationalised,” has failed because Israel believes that might is right. The situation is not helped by the United States and other Western powers. “One of the two envisaged States proclaimed its independence as Israel and in the 1948 war involving neighbouring Arab States expanded to 77 per cent of the territory of mandate Palestine, including the larger part of Jerusalem,” according to the UN resolution observed in the breach.
Back at home, contrary to what some Nigerians have been conditioned to believe, the crisis in the Middle East is not about Christianity and Islam. In fact, it is one of the most complicated land disputes in history, which the world powers have failed abysmally to resolve because of apparent insincerity of purpose. That the Palestinians are being denied basic humanity is why the crisis persists and it is not likely to be resolved by the force of arms. Indeed, the main challenge in the Israeli-Palestinian crisis that has over the years led to a cycle of revenge killings, including the latest one, is the inability of stakeholders within the two societies to imbibe tolerance.
With the latest judicial intervention by South Africa, moral issues have been raised about the response of the world powers to this never-ending conflict. The humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Gaza and West Bank should prick the conscience of our collective humanity. The United States and its European allies have the historical responsibility to demonstrate commitment to justice and fair play by treating the two-state solution with the needed sense of urgency. We join critical stakeholders all over the world in calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
