Israel swiftly asserted that “destruction” was not and is not their intention after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered that Israel must cease any actions in Rafah that “inflict conditions that could bring physical destruction” to the Palestinian people. Israel will now fight on three fronts: the UN, the courts, and its own negative public image.
After reading the International Court of Justice’s decision over the weekend, Jerusalem exhaled with relief. The courts allowed Israel considerable leeway during a prolonged operation in Rafah by not ordering an end to all fighting in Gaza. They did, however, demand that all operations in Rafah be stopped as they “may inflict conditions of life on the Palestinian group in Gaza that could bring about its physical destruction, in whole or in part.”
