Belgium’s FM calls for immediate implementation of ICJ ruling

Belgian Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib called for the implementation of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ’s decision ordering Israel to immediately stop its military operations in the city of Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip.

In a post on her X account on Friday, Lahbib wrote: “The @CIJ_ICJ orders Israel to stop its military offensive in Rafah. 🇧🇪 calls for immediate implementation of the decision.

The violence and human suffering in Gaza must stop. We call for a ceasefire, the release of the hostages and negotiations for two States.”

Earlier on Friday, President of the ICJ Nawaf Salam ordered Israel to: “Immediately halt its military offensive, and any other action in the Rafah Governorate, which may inflict on the Palestinian group in Gaza conditions of life that could bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part.”

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This statement was made during a session held by the ICJ to announce its ruling regarding South Africa’s request to issue an order to stop the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip.

The president of the court noted that the ruling consists of three points, which are that Israel halts its military operations in Rafah, maintain the opening of the Rafah crossing to facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip and submit a report to the court within a month on the steps it will take.

The war on Gaza left more than 116,000 Palestinians dead and wounded, most of them women and children, and about 10,000 missing amid massive destruction and famine that claimed the lives of children and the elderly.

Israel continues the war despite the ICJ’s intention to issue arrest warrants against its Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for their involvement in war crimes and crimes against humanity, despite the issuance of a resolution by the United Nations Security Council to immediately stop the fighting.

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