Lawyer says The Hague should order measures against Israel due to ‘urgency’ of risk to Gazans’ lives

THE HAGUE — Blinne Ni Gharalaigh SC presents South Africa’s contention that the International Court of Justice should order provisional measures against Israel due what she says is the urgency of the risk to Palestinian lives in Gaza and the risk of “irreparable prejudice” to their rights.

“Huge swaths of Gaza are being wiped from the map.. Experts warn that deaths from deprivation and disease risk outstripping deaths from war,” asserts Ni Gharalaigh.

“The condition of urgency is met when acts of exceptional prejudice can occur before the court can make a final decision,” she continued.

Ni Gharalaigh cites several judgments by the ICJ ordering provisional measures during recent conflicts, including a ruling on a case before the court regarding the Russian invasion of Ukraine where the court said that Russia’s activities, which included the destruction of buildings and infrastructure, gave rise to risk of irreparable prejudice, and had taken into account the fact that Ukrainians during that conflict lacked access to water, food, essential medicines and heating.

“It would be a departure from jurisprudence that this court has established and recently confirmed not to order provisional measures in this case,” she says.