A ceasefire in Gaza would only work one way

 This letter appears in the UK's Daily Telegraph, 16 January 2024 

SIR – South Africa has charged Israel in the International Court of Justice with genocide, and asks the court, as an interim “provisional measure”, to order a ceasefire in Gaza.

Charles Moore (Comment, January 13) says that if the court orders this and Israel refuses, it could become a pariah nation, and if it accepts, an endangered one. He leaves the consequences of the latter course to readers’ imagination.   

Were Israel to comply with an ICJ demand for a ceasefire, Hamas would be under no obligation to stop sending rockets, missiles and drones into Israel (as it is still doing); nor would it be deterred from repeating the massacre of October 7 “again and again”, as it has undertaken to do. Consequently 110,000 internally displaced Israelis, domiciled adjacent to the Israel-Gaza border, would be unable to return to their homes. Hamas would continue to hold 132 Israeli hostages, and Israel would be barred from trying to rescue them or effect their release. 

In short, Israel would be prohibited from fulfilling its obligations under international human rights law to protect and defend its citizens. One can only hope that South Africa’s case will fail to stand up. Lord Moore will be aware that Israel is pretty well inured to being a pariah state.

Neville Teller
Beit Shemesh, Israel