Gaza: Israel plans new attack as Türkiye joins in the ICJ case

A brief reminder: The Republic of South Africa appealed to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to condemn Israel for its genocidal campaign against the Palestinians in Gaza. On January 26, the Court, which convened on January 11, did not call for the ceasefire requested by South Africa, but based on the “urgent” humanitarian situation, called on Israel to take measures “to prevent genocide” in Gaza and asked it to present these measures to the court within a month.

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, on the other hand, has got the approval of his cabinet for a new air and ground assault on Gaza. The target is Rafah, near the Egyptian border, where some 1.5 million Palestinians fleeing attacks in northern Gaza have taken refuge. The United Nations has reacted to Netanyahu’s plan. Even US President Joe Biden said he opposed Israel’s welfare operation. But then, on January 20, the United States vetoed (for the third time) a UN Security Council resolution on an emergency humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, showing that it backs Israeli war management under all circumstances.

Türkiye to join in the ICJ case

It is this unconditional support from the US administration that has emboldened Israel to take actions that have brought the world, if not Western governments, to its feet. Israel’s operation in Gaza, launched on October 7 following a Hamas attack that killed 1,200 Israelis, has so far killed more than 30,000 people, mostly civilians, and wounded more than 70,000.

The ICJ will meet again on February 26, exactly one month from the day of the ruling in the case brought by South Africa. This time the agenda is the opinion requested by the UN on December 30, 2022, from the International Court of Justice on the legal consequences of Israel’s occupation/annexation of the Palestinian territories and its actions to change the population structure and status of Jerusalem.

Türkiye will be among the 57 countries and international organizations that will present their statements to present their advisory opinion. Deputy Foreign Minister Ambassador Ahmet Yıldız will be presenting Türkiye’s argument on February 26. 

Meanwhile, President Tayyip Erdoğan appointed Yıldız as Türkiye’s Permanent Representative to the UN last week. Sedat Önal, Türkiye’s Permanent Representative to the UN, will also become Ambassador to Washington.

However, Türkiye’s accelerated Gaza diplomacy is not limited to the case at the ICJ.

Gaza diplomacy

In the past 10 days, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan’s bilateral contacts at two important international meetings, the Munich Security Conference, and the G20 Foreign Ministers Conference focused on halting Israel’s Gaza operation and the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Among the wide range of contacts from the US to Russia to Egypt, the most striking detail was Fidan’s meeting with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock twice, once in Munich and once in Rio de Janeiro, three days apart. Between Munich and Rio, Fidan met with US Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Chris Murphy, who were visiting President Erdoğan in Ankara. In this meeting, Fidan asked the senators, who had a stake in the F-16 deal, to use the US influence on Israel.

Why Türkiye did not join in the case at the ICJ earlier was a matter of domestic political debate. Future Party leader Ahmet Davutoğlu even suggested – as he detailed to YetkinReport – that the case should have been brought by Türkiye instead of South Africa.

Gaza disaster

The USA gives strategic support to Israel to continue its military operations in Gaza without any regard for the civilian population. It is not only the US in support of the military operations of Israel. There are other G7 countries in the same line; Japan, the UK, France, Germany, Canada, and Italy. European Union governments are not unanimous in their support for the US and Israel. For example, countries like Spain, Portugal, Sweden, and the Netherlands are in favor of Palestinian rights. While this puts a brake on the EU taking a more pro-Israel stance, there is a growing public mobilization in Western governments in favor of a ceasefire in Gaza and the delivery of humanitarian aid based on human rights.

In this context, Türkiye’s intervention in the case before the International Court of Justice should be considered a diplomatic and legal step in the right direction. But more civilians are being killed in Gaza every passing day and it is not only Netanyahu with his brutal political ambitions who is responsible for that; it is also those tapping his shoulders for his brutal actions.