Violent fighting has raged between Israeli soldiers and Hamas forces around the town of Khan Yunis in southern Gaza for several days. According to the AFP news agency, Israel also continues to bomb targets in this largest city in the area on Saturday. Several thousand Palestinians are said to have been unable to escape the areas of fighting. Tens of thousands of Palestinians have fled further south to the city of Rafah on the border with Egypt. TENS OF THOUSANDS: Palestinians flee south in Gaza from fighting near the town of Khan Younis. Photo: AFP According to the UN, most of the 1.7 million Palestinians who have been displaced by the war have gathered around Rafah. Palestinian health authorities have reported a large number of civilians who have been killed in the Israeli attacks in Khan Younis. The military in Israel says it has killed at least eleven armed men in the fighting in Khan Younis in the south of the Gaza Strip in the last 24 hours. Concrete demands from the court It was yesterday that the UN Court in The Hague, ICJ, decided that the accusations that Israel is carrying out a genocide in Gaza must be taken up by the court. It is South Africa that has taken up the matter. INVESTIGATING GENOCIDE ACCUSATIONS: The International Court of Justice in The Hague yesterday made a number of demands on Israel. Photo: Reuters This may take several years to decide on. But in yesterday’s ruling, the court demanded that more emergency measures be introduced immediately. Israel must introduce measures to prevent a genocide Israel must ensure that the actions of the Israeli military do not violate the Genocide Convention Israel must prevent and punish direct and public calls for genocide Israel must immediately ensure more humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza Israel must within a month deliver a report on what measures they have initiated to prevent a possible genocide Hamas and other militias must release the hostages – As expected, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu completely rejects the demands from the UN court. – Israel is fighting a just war without parallel, he says in a statement, and he calls the decision by the ICJ “scandalous”. NOT SURPRISED: Law professor Jo Stigen at the University of Oslo says it could be expected that Israel would continue the war in Gaza. Photo: UiO The US State Department confirms that it still believes that the genocide accusations against Israel are baseless. It is against this background that Israel continues its attacks and fighting in the Gaza Strip. – What is happening now is as expected, unfortunately, says Jo Stigen to news. He is a law professor and international law expert at the University of Oslo. He points out that the UN Court has not ordered Israel to introduce a ceasefire in Gaza. The Israelis have received orders to, among other things, improve the humanitarian conditions for the Palestinians. Up in the Security Council The UN Security Council will meet on Wednesday after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague delivered its ruling yesterday. It is Algeria that has requested the meeting. As a member of the court, Israel is bound by decisions made there. But the court has no coercive means to implement the decisions. DIFFICULT TO ESCAPE: Smoke over the town of Rafah in southern Gaza from fighting between Israeli soldiers and Hamas forces. The photo was taken two days ago. Photo: AFP The Norwegian expert does not believe that the Security Council meeting will lead to anything concrete. – The US has veto power in the UN Security Council, and this with a veto means that the council is quite paralyzed, emphasizes Stigen. But he believes that the ruling in the UN court will have an effect in the long term. – The Israelis will probably show that they will improve the terrible conditions the Palestinians now live in, with a lack of water, electricity, food and healthcare. The Genocide Convention was adopted in 1948 in the wake of the Second World War and the Holocaust. It was supposed to prevent something like this from happening again. Halting aid to Palestinian refugees The US, Canada, Australia and Italy are suspending their aid to UNRWA until further notice. This is the UN aid organization for Palestinian refugees. Israeli authorities first accused UNRWA staff of having participated in the terrorist attack on Israel on 7 October. MISSING MOST: Palestinian refugees in Rafah in search of water. Photo: AFP The suspicions concern twelve people, according to the US Department of State. UNRWA says that several employees have been dismissed as a result of information that has come to light. The Norwegian authorities will not stop support for the UN organisation. – The situation for the population in Gaza is catastrophic, and UNRWA is the most important humanitarian organization there, says Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide. He points out that international support for the people of Gaza is now more necessary than ever. Eide adds that the reports that UNRWA staff were allegedly involved in the attack on Israel on 7 October are deeply upsetting. Norway is positive about UNRWA’s investigation of the matter.
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Israel continues to attack in Gaza after a ruling in the UN court – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
