Arab League ambassadors gather for an emergency meeting in Cairo, Egypt. (Photo by AFP)
Cairo, January 28 (RHC)-- The Arab League has begun an extraordinary session to reach a “unified Arab stance” in the aftermath of the International Court of Justice (ICJ)’s interim ruling on the brutal Israeli aggression against Gaza.
According to the Palestinian WAFA agency, the Palestinian delegation to the meeting is led by the Ambassador of the State of Palestine to the Arab League, Muhannad Al-Aklok, along with several senior advisors.
The meeting, called by Palestine in coordination with Egypt and Jordan, will formulate a unified Arab stance in response to the recent measures issued by the ICJ against the Israeli regime. “The meeting aims to take comprehensive measures to prevent prohibited acts under the Genocide Convention, ensure the immediate provision of urgent humanitarian needs for the Gaza Strip, and hold Israel accountable for incitement to genocide in Gaza,” it said in a statement.
In its interim ruling, the ICJ ordered Israel to take all measures within its power to prevent genocide in Gaza, saying the regime must ensure its forces do not commit genocide and also ensure the preservation of evidence of alleged genocide. It also urged the regime to report back in one month.
The court obliged Israel to take more measures to protect Palestinians but did not order it to end military operations in the Strip.
South Africa filed the lawsuit against Israel at the end of December, noting that Israel’s actions are “genocidal in character because they are intended to bring about the destruction of a substantial part of the Palestinian national, racial and ethnical group.”
The application also said Israeli attacks breach the UN’s Genocide Convention, and urged the court to “order Israel to cease killing and causing serious mental and bodily harm to Palestinian people in Gaza.”
Two days after the ruling was announced by the top UN court based in The Hague, the genocidal war perpetuated by Israel on Gaza continues and Palestinians continue to be killed in cold blood and through deliberate starvation.
More deaths and destruction in the Gaza Strip as Israel bombs nearly two dozen locations 114 days into its onslaught on the territory. The regime has killed 165 Palestinians and injured 290 others in one day.
The long-awaited ruling by the ICJ against Israel underlines the growing isolation of the regime while also highlighting the limitations of the authority of UN organs.
The death toll from the nearly four-month genocide now stands at 26,422, most of them children and women. Meanwhile, the Gaza media office says the regime has killed 120 reporters in the coastal strip since the aggression began.
Israel’s indiscriminate bombings have also destroyed much of the Gaza Strip and its infrastructure, including hospitals. Doctors Without Borders says Gaza no longer has a functioning healthcare system.
Israel launched hostilities in Gaza following a historic operation by the Gaza-based Hamas resistance group against the occupying entity in retaliation for its intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.
