Human Rights Violations Continue: Israel Does Not Follow ICJ Order

The Israeli government has not followed a legally binding order from the International Court of Justice (ICJ). The order was meant to make sure basic services and humanitarian aid are provided to Gaza. This is according to a report by Human Rights Watch.  

Recently, the ICJ ordered Israel to quickly take effective steps to enable basic services and humanitarian aid to be provided to Gaza. This was in response to warnings about “catastrophic conditions” there. The court also demanded that Israel report back in one month on complying. But one month later, Israel is still blocking basic services and the delivery of fuel and aid to Gaza.  

Acts of Collectively Punishing Civilians

These actions are considered war crimes by Human Rights Watch. They include using starvation as a weapon of war. The number of trucks entering Gaza and aid missions reaching northern Gaza has gone down a lot since the ruling. This is compared to the weeks before, as reported by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

“The Israeli government is starving Gaza’s 2.3 million Palestinians, putting them in even more danger than before the World Court’s binding order,” said Omar Shakir of Human Rights Watch. He said not only has Israel ignored the court ruling, but repression has gotten worse, further blocking life-saving aid.  

Call for World Action

Human Rights Watch has called on other countries to use leverage, including sanctions, to pressure the Israeli government to follow the court orders. The organization previously found that Israeli authorities are using starvation as a weapon of war. They are deliberately blocking water, food, fuel, and aid from being delivered.

Israeli authorities have kept Gaza’s electricity supply shut off since Hamas-led attacks in October. While Israel resumed piping water through two of its three pipelines, widespread destruction to water infrastructure has left only one working at 47% capacity as of February 20. Efforts to repair infrastructure have been blocked by Israel, according to officials at Gaza’s water utility.  

Conclusion

Israel’s failure to follow the ICJ order has made Gaza’s humanitarian crisis worse. Human Rights Watch continues to call for world action to ensure basic services and humanitarian aid reach Gazans.