The UK had “considerable concerns” about South Africa’s decision to take action under the Genocide Convention against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the foreign office minister Andrew Mitchell told MPs this week.
He said:
Israel has the right to defend itself against Hamas, and we do not believe that Israel’s actions in Gaza can be described as a genocide. Of course, we respect the role and independence of the ICJ and the court has now reached a decision on provisional measures.
It called for increased aid into Gaza, and measures to ensure basic services, as we have been calling for. It has ordered Israel to preserve evidence relating to allegations of genocide, reporting to the court on progress within one month. It has also ordered the immediate release of all hostages, and reminded all parties to the conflict that they are bound by international humanitarian law.
Those are points that we have been pressing consistently, and we will continue to press them after the court’s decision.
In response to a question about arms sales from Imran Hussein, Labour MP for Bradford East, Mitchell said that “throwing accusations of genocide across the chamber, in respect of Israel’s activities in Gaza, is extraordinarily offensive and, in my view, totally wrong”.
I summarised the court’s ruling on provisional measures a few hours after it was delivered last Friday and promised to publish a more considered assessment today. You can now read it in the Law Society Gazette.
Click here, navigate to page 11 using the tools in the centre of the banner and then click anywhere on that page for a version that’s easy to read and print.
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