A shift towards an emerging multipolar world order may see the country finally punished after decades of impunity, according to one analyst.
The International Court of Justice released its long awaited ruling Friday in South Africa’s genocide case against Israel.
The court on its own possesses no power to hold Israel to account, and it did not make a decision on whether Israel’s contested actions in the Gaza Strip are genocidal. However, it did determine that sufficient cause exists to order Israel to take all measures to prevent genocide. The court ordered Israel to appear before judges again in a month’s time to report on its implementation of the recommended measures.
Beirut-based journalist Esteban Carrillo returned to Sputnik’s Fault Lines program with hosts Jamarl Thomas and Melik Abdul to break down the decision as it was released.
“Provisional measures is what South Africa wanted,” noted Carrillo, “that there is enough evidence to show that Israel has violated the 1948 Genocide Convention. “This is what South Africa wanted when they filed this suit because a final ruling by the courts can take months, it can take years. South Africa was after the provisional ruling to force Israel to agree to a ceasefire in Gaza.”
Palestinians carrying a few salvageable items leave Gaza City to safer areas in the south on November 25, 2023, on the second day of a truce between Israel and Hamas. – Sputnik International, 1920, 01.12.2023
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Still, Carrillo noted that Israel often ignores world opinion and discounts measures taken against it in the international arena, such as when the Soviet Union led a 1975 effort in the United Nations to declare that Zionism is a form of racism and racial discrimination.
“Israel has a long history of disregarding the rulings or the opinions of international organizations,” said Carillo. “They do as they will, and they have the complete protection of the United States who at best is going to issue a lukewarm statement about protecting civilians. That’s what I think we should expect.”
However, host Jamarl Thomas noted the significant “moral weight” the decision carries as Carillo insisted Israel “did not refute any of the evidence, they did not disprove any of the South African evidence.”
Wounded Palestinians sit in Gaza City’s al-Shifa hospital, in the central Gaza Strip – Sputnik International, 1920, 18.10.2023
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Amidst a rapidly emerging multipolar world order, Carillo suggested Global South countries and their allies may enforce material consequences against Israel for their actions in Gaza, where 70% of the more than 26,000 deaths are said to be of women and children.
“We will have to see, because we are seeing a polar shift in the geopolitical sphere,” said the analyst. “Maybe we will see countries like Russia, maybe like China, or maybe like South Africa or other BRICS members, find a way to stop or to punish Israel in a way.”
“Economically, Israel is already facing dire consequences,” Carillo claimed. “Its ports are empty, its workforce is completely depleted, and, among other things, their currency is on the downward trend. So if you add on top of these, as you said, the moral weight of committing genocide and then more than likely not stopping, how are nations not aligned with the US, why would they continue dealing with Israel? Where is the benefit?”
Israel also continues to face economic repercussions as a result of the effective blockade in the Red Sea enforced by the Houthi movement in Yemen. Despite Yemen’s status as one of the poorest countries in the Middle East, Yeminis have demonstrated strong support for the Palestinian cause, with hundreds of thousands taking to the streets to protest US and UK-led retaliatory strikes in the country.
“There will always be resistance to oppression,” Carillo insisted. “Always. We know this through human history.”
This photo released by the Houthi Media Center shows Houthi forces boarding the cargo ship Galaxy Leader on Sunday, Nov. 19, 2023. Yemen’s Houthis have seized the ship in the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen after threatening to seize all vessels owned by Israeli companies. – Sputnik International, 1920, 23.12.2023
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Published by Sputnik Globe
Republished by The 21st Century
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