London:
The British government criticized the International Court of Justice for ordering Israel to immediately halt its military assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah, saying the decision would strengthen the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.
The ICJ, which is the UN’s highest body for hearing disputes between states, made the emergency decision on Friday in the South African case, accusing Israel of genocide.
“The reason there is no pause in the fighting is because Hamas refused a very generous hostage deal from Israel. The intervention of these courts – including today’s ICJ – will strengthen Hamas’s view that it can hold the hostages and remain in Gaza,” a UK Foreign Office spokesperson said on Friday night.
“And if that happens there will be no peace and no two-state solution.”
The ICJ, or World Court, does not have the means to enforce its orders, but the decision highlighted Israel’s global isolation due to its military campaign in Gaza, launched after the October 7 Hamas attacks in southern Israel.
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