Janina Dill, a global security professor at Oxford University, advised MEPs against completely relying on the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to hold Israel responsible for its actions in Gaza. She emphasised that there was strong evidence to suggest that Israel had breached global humanitarian laws in its treatment of Gaza.
Previously within the year, the ICJ had provisionally ordered Israel to avoid genocide activities in the ongoing conflict. The charge of genocide had been brought against the nation by South Africa at the United Nation’s supreme court, following Israel’s land invasion of Gaza. Over 32,900 Palestinians have been reported dead since the invasion, as reported by the health ministry governed by Hamas. It’s speculated that it may take years for the court to determine if genocide indeed occurred in the conflict.
Speaking during a seminar at the European Parliament, Dill insisted that the global community should not rely on the ongoing court case. She highlighted that it was everybody’s responsibility to call out any activities that seemed to breach humanitarian laws. Dill suggested an arms embargo, and withdrawal of diplomatic and financial aid could control Israel’s actions.
The Oxford professor expressed concern over the high standard set by the court, which requires the sole intention of actions under investigation to be proven as genocide – a stipulation she said was nearly impossible to meet, more so when implicating a state.
Reflecting her sentiments, Prof Vaios Koutroulis of Université libre de Bruxelles’ international law center, criticised the lack of attempts to curtail weapon sales to Israel amid the conflict. He highlighted the existing measures taken against Russia after their Ukraine invasion as a stark contrast.
Giulia Pinzauti, a former ICJ legal associate officer, shared that dealing with the prosecution of Palestinians in the genocide case was akin to trying to fit a large foot into “Cinderella’s glass slipper”. According to her, interrelated issues such as a protracted occupation of the Gaza Strip and settler violence in the West Bank should also be considered.
“This case might potentially drag on for years before a verdict of substance is achieved, if it’s ever reached,” she pointed out. “Israel is employing starvation tactics on the Palestinians as an act of warfare. The circumstance is of utmost immediacy,” she insisted.
The event held at the European Parliament was coordinated by Barry Andrews, a member of Fianna Fáil party serving as MEP, along with Soraya Rodríguez, an MEP from Spain. She asserted that Gaza has transformed from an “open-air penitentiary” into an “open-air graveyard”.