by The International Court of Justice will rule Friday on South Africa’s demand that Israel immediately suspend its military offensive in Gaza. The ruling is an initial step in a broader case over whether Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in the enclave.
The decisions of the tribunal, the highest judicial body of the United Nations, are binding, but the court has few means to enforce them. Still, a ruling against Israel would increase international pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government over the war.
Here’s what you should know about the ruling.
What is the case?
This month, the South African government accused Israel before the court in The Hague of “acts and omissions” of a “genocidal nature” against Palestinians in Gaza. Before a panel of 17 judges, South African lawyers said that Israeli leaders and lawmakers had communicated in public statements their intention to commit genocide, which would be a violation of the UN Convention on Genocidein which Israel is a part.
South Africa offered as evidence the words of Israeli officials, including Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who said in October that Israel would impose a full siege on the territory because it was fighting “human animals.” A South African lawyer showed the court a video of Israeli troops dancing and chanting that “there are no uninvolved citizens,” arguing that it showed that the soldiers had understood “the inciting words” of their leaders.
What is Israel’s defense?
Israel has categorically denied the accusation. Lawyers for the country told the court that the Israeli military had worked to preserve civilian life, giving non-combatants two weeks to leave northern Gaza before invading at the end of October. They also say that after freezing aid deliveries to Gaza at the start of the war, they have since allowed it to be delivered daily.
Israel’s lawyers say some inflammatory statements by Israeli leaders were made by people without executive power about the military campaign, or have been taken out of context. Israel has declassified more than 30 secret orders issued by government and military leaders, which it says show Israeli efforts to limit harm to civilians.
What is the importance of the case?
On one level, the case is a legal reckoning for the war in Gaza, which began when Hamas led an attack on Oct. 7 that killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli officials, and about 240 more were taken hostage. Israel has responded with airstrikes and a ground invasion that have killed more than 25,000 people in Gaza, according to health authorities there. The United Nations says about 70 percent of the dead are women or children.
Many Israelis see the case as part of a decades-old effort to turn the country into a pariah and subject it to a higher level of scrutiny than other nations. Israeli leaders have called the case absurd, arguing that Israel, which was founded after a genocide of Jews, is fighting a genocidal enemy in Hamas, which has called for Israel’s destruction.
Many Palestinians, however, see the case as a rare opportunity to subject Israel to scrutiny. They argue that the United States and other powerful allies have shielded Israel from accountability, including before the UN Security Council.
What could a sentence mean?
The court is not expected to rule on the genocide charge for years. The decision expected Friday deals with whether to order “interim measures” that would ask Israel to take proactive steps to ensure that genocide does not occur in the future while the case is pending, and stop “further severe and irreparable damage” to the Palestinian people.
Because Israel defended itself in court, legal experts say it could be more difficult for it to overturn any court order. But Israel has ignored the court’s findings before: In 2004, the court issued a non-binding opinion that an Israeli security barrier inside the occupied West Bank was illegal and should be dismantled; Two decades later, the system of walls and fences still stands.
