The British government has criticised the International Court of Justice for ordering Israel to immediately halt its military assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah, saying the ruling would strengthen Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.
The ICJ, which is the highest U.N. body for hearing disputes between states, made the emergency ruling on Friday in South Africa's case accusing Israel of genocide © Mena Today
The British government has criticised the International Court of Justice for ordering Israel to immediately halt its military assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah, saying the ruling would strengthen Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.
The ICJ, which is the highest U.N. body for hearing disputes between states, made the emergency ruling on Friday in South Africa's case accusing Israel of genocide.
"The reason there isn’t a pause in the fighting is because Hamas turned down a very generous hostage deal from Israel. The intervention of these courts - including the ICJ today - will strengthen the view of Hamas that they can hold on to hostages and stay in Gaza," a UK foreign ministry spokesperson said late on Friday.
"And if that happens there won’t be either peace, or a two-state solution."
The ICJ, or World Court, has no means to enforce its orders, but the ruling highlighted Israel's global isolation over its military campaign in Gaza, launched after the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on southern Israel.
Reporting by Muvija M
The United Nations peacekeeping mission in Congo will send its first team to monitor a ceasefire between Congo’s government and the AFC/M23 rebel group in the coming days, Qatar’s foreign ministry said on Monday after hosting talks in Doha.
U.S. President Donald Trump's senior envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to visit Israel for meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel's military chief, two senior Israeli officials said on Monday.
U.S. President Donald Trump's plan to end the Gaza war was given a boost on Monday with the reopening of the enclave's Rafah crossing with Egypt. But difficult questions remain unaddressed, including whether Hamas will disarm.
To make this website run properly and to improve your experience, we use cookies. For more detailed information, please check our Cookie Policy.
Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.