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Responses to Ruling by Certain Concerned Parties

In a statement, the Palestinian resistance organization Hamas, which governs Gaza, said, "The [International] Court of Justice's decision is an important development which contributes to isolating Israel and exposing its crimes in Gaza."

In a televised speech, Foreign Minister of the Palestinian Authority Riyad al-Maliki said that the panel of 17 judges "assessed the facts and the law, they ruled in favor of humanity and international law."

He added that his government was calling on all states to ensure the measures ordered by the court are implemented "including by Israel."

South Africa, in a statement posted on the website of the Department of International Relations & Cooperation, said, "Today marks a decisive victory for the international rule of law and a significant milestone in the search for justice for the Palestinian people. In a landmark ruling, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has determined that Israel's actions in Gaza are plausibly genocidal and has indicated provisional measures on that basis. For the implementation of the international rule of law, the decision is a momentous one. South Africa thanks the Court for its swift ruling." It notes that other states that are signatories to the Genocide Convention "are now on notice of the existence of a serious risk of genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza. They must, therefore, also act independently and immediately to prevent genocide by Israel and to ensure that they are not themselves in violation of the Genocide Convention, including by aiding or assisting in the commission of genocide. This necessarily imposes an obligation on all States to cease funding and facilitating Israel's military actions, which are plausibly genocidal."

Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs posted remarks from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in which he did not address the matters raised by the court. He asserted that "Israel's commitment to international law is unwavering" and on this basis said its actions in Gaza, which he claimed as self-defence, would continue, and that Israel considers the charge of genocide against it false. Despite Israel's all-out war in Gaza and ongoing mass killings of civilians through direct and indirect means, Netanyahu said that Israel "will continue to facilitate humanitarian assistance, and to do our utmost to keep civilians out of harm's way."

Israel's National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir doubled down on Israel's impunity and flouting of the rule of international law, responding to the ruling with the tweet, "Hague Shmague."

As for the U.S., the main backer of the Israeli Zionists, there was no immediate response to the ruling as of the morning of January 26.

As concerns Canada, which has given nearly unconditional support to Israel during its genocidal war on Gaza, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters on January 12 that Canada's "wholehearted" support for ICJ "does not mean we support the premise of the case brought forward by South Africa." On January 25, Justice Minister Arif Virani said the government was following the case closely and claimed that Canada will respect the ICJ's ruling on genocide allegations in Gaza. Global Affairs Canada has yet to issue a response as of the morning of January 26.

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