Professor Rayhan Ahmed Tapader :
The horrific carnage in Gaza is undoubtedly painful. Amid discontent in the Arab world, differing views have emerged on the ongoing conflict in Gaza, sparking a divided public opinion.
It has been questioned whether the decision to engage in an intense conflict in Gaza was made solely because of Hamas.
The question has been raised, whether there was a role of some resistance faction or any allied force behind this important decision. At such a volatile time, when the entire region was on the brink of a potentially disastrous situation, this decision added fuel to the fire.
The important issue that needs to be explored is what the consequences of this war are and who will benefit from this volatile approach.
The Supreme Court of the United Nations International Court of Justice judges last May 24 ordered Israel to urgently end its military offensive in the town of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. South Africa’s case against Israel for genocide is undoubtedly a landmark development.
Although there is no way for the ICJ or the International Court of Justice to enforce its own order, the ruling is a sign of Israel’s global isolation over the Gaza operation.
Israel has rejected calls from its close ally the United States and continued its devastating airstrikes on Rafah last month, drawing Israel’s support from other Western allies. Giving blind support has become difficult.
The verdict said the situation in besieged Palestine had deteriorated.
Israel should urgently end the military offensive and other inhumane operations against the Rafah Authority.
The judgment also noted that Israel had not withheld information about the safety of human lives during its own attacks and evictions, nor had it provided adequate information about the availability of food, water, sanitation and medical care for the eight million Palestinians fleeing Rafah.
As a result the Court concluded that Israel had rather neglected to adequately address the concerns arising from its ongoing military aggression in Rafah.
The International Court of Justice ruling was adopted by a 15-2 vote by a panel of 15 judges from around the world, with only two dissenting judges, one from Uganda and one from Israel.
The ruling came a week after the country’s request that it be part of South Africa’s case against Israel for violating the Holocaust Convention. At the same time, the ICJ has recently issued a much awaited ruling ordering Israel to stop the heinous attack on Rafah as soon as possible.
During the reading of the verdict on May 24, the head of the International Court of Justice, Nawaf Salam, said that Israel must stop its military operations immediately and stop the ongoing activities in the Rafah area.
Those that threaten the lives of the Palestinian people in Gaza, is described as an act of genocide under international law. Israel must grant free access to any UN agency investigating allegations of genocide in Gaza.
The ruling reiterated Israel’s need for the highest right of unhindered access to Gaza for basic services and humanitarian aid on an emergency basis. Moreover, the humanitarian situation in Gaza has been judged to be worsening.
The observation states that the Court identifies as deeply alarming the fact that Israeli hostages are still being held by Hamas and other armed groups in Gaza, and calls for the swift and unconditional release of these hostages. But Israel rejected the court’s ruling, saying its military operation in Gaza was consistent with international law.
According to the country’s National Security Adviser Zachi Hanegbi, Israel has not conducted and will not conduct any military operation in the Rafah area that could harm the way of life or destroy the civilian Palestinian population in whole or in part. Meanwhile, the Palestinian ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour welcomed the ICJ ruling and called on Israel to comply with it.
One of the biggest reasons for Israel’s massacre of civilians in Gaza is the most brutal militarization in the country and the full support and aid of the US government as its backer. In the history of the world, no other war has been condemned and condemned so widely by so many countries and nations like this war.
The crimes identified by the ICC as war crimes and crimes against humanity have been committed by leaders of both Israel and Hamas since October 2023. Although both sides deny such accusations, the inhumane consequences they ignore are direr. Nevertheless, like it or not, President Biden was forced to immediately denounce the ICC’s arrest warrant application against Israel’s prime minister and defense minister.
However, this crime assessment continues till date. It would also be fair to assume that it was only after Hamas gunmen attacked Israel that they launched their offensive in Gaza. Hamas is the ruling party in the Gaza Strip, which attacked Israel on October 7, killing about 1,200 people and abducting 252 people to Gaza.
More recently, on May 25, Hamas was seen firing rockets at Tel Aviv for the first time. And on the other side of the coin, Israel continues to escalate its attacks on Gaza. As a result, at least 36,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 80,000 injured in the war since October 7, according to the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health. Most of them are women and children who are all part of the general civilian population.
In this complex web of events, the conflict in Gaza serves not only as a battlefield, but also as a symbolic arena in a larger geopolitical maneuvering game.
Global responses to conflict in different regions raise uncomfortable questions about the coherence of international responses and the underlying motivations that drive them. As the smoke settles over Gaza, its lasting impact on regional dynamics and the geopolitical landscape remains uncertain.
(The writer is a researcher
and columnist)