The UN International Court of Justice ruling last Friday did not call for a ceasefire in Gaza, though it prescribed measures for Israel to follow to prevent genocidal acts. Israel rejected the ruling, countering that it is acting in self-defence and in no way committing genocide. The case against Israel was brought by South Africa. The interim ruling is unlikely to change the progress of the war being prosecuted by Israel after the barbaric assault on innocent civilians on October 7 last year. Israel launched the armed attack on Gaza with the stated objective of eliminating the terrorist outfit. Israel maintains that Hamas terrorists use civilians as human shield, hiding in schools, hospitals, etc, thus inevitably making civilians as collateral damage. The Hamas-controlled Gaza administration claims that over 25,000 Gazans have been killed so far. Hamas, however, is unwilling to free over 130 hostages it had captured on October 7. There are no innocents here, both sides complaining of excessive use of force. Inhuman terrorist tactics detract from the viability of the Palestinian cause. As a state under siege, Israel too has reason to resort to violence in order to protect its citizens. The UN has failed to enforce its well-meaning resolutions for ceasefire. Israel refuses to stop till its objective is met. Another ceasefire is being negotiated for the release of hostages in exchange of Palestinians held in Israeli prisons. Meanwhile, Hamas is far from being eliminated. A two-state solution commends itself to resolve the longstanding dispute between Palestinians and Israel. Unless there is an iron-clad guarantee of Israel’s security against Islamicist terror this may not fructify into reality.
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