Netanyahu instructs cabinet members to refrain from responding to ICJ ruling on South Africa genocide case 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly instructed members of his cabinet to refrain from responding to the International Court of Justice’s provisional ruling in South Africa’s genocide case against Israel. National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi conveyed Netanyahu’s directive, urging government ministers to refrain from public statements until an official government position is released on the matter. The move came after the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to take steps to try to reduce further deaths and damage in the Gaza Strip but stopped short of demanding a stop to the blistering offensive that has decimated the Palestinian territory. The court in The Hague, Netherlands, ordered a total of six provisional measures on Friday as it considers the genocide charges that South Africa brought against Israel. South Africa requested interim steps since the proceedings could take several years. During a one-hour hearing in The Hague, Netherlands, Judge Joan E. Donoghue listed the steps the court is demanding while it considers genocide charges that South Africa brought against Israel over the tens of thousands civilian casualties from its military campaign against Hamas. The orders call on Israel to take all steps within its power to prevent a genocide, to make sure that any evidence that could point toward genocide is not destroyed, and to “prevent and punish public incitement” that could encourage genocide. Israel also must also take “immediate and effective measures to ensure the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance to address the adverse conditions of life faced by Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.” Court President Joan E. Donoghue said there were enough elements in South Africa’s arguments to continue the genocide case but that Israeli troops had to do much more in the meantime to protect Palestinian civilians in Gaza. She said the court was “of the view that Israel must take measures within its power to prevent and punish the direct and public incitement to commit genocide.” The six interim actions that the U.N.’s top court ordered Israel to take to reduce civilian casualties in Gaza received broad support among the 17 judges participating in the genocide case South Africa brought against Israel. Many of the provisional measures ordered by the International Court of Justice on Friday were endorsed by an overwhelming majority of the panel, which included an Israeli judge who voted with the majority on several orders. The Israeli judge, Aharon Barak, wrote in a separate opinion that “although I am convinced there is no plausibility of genocide,” he voted for two of the measures. He said he joined the majority in ordering Israel to refrain from public incitement “in the hope that the measure will help to decrease tensions and discourage damaging rhetoric.” He said he voted for a measure about ensuring humanitarian aid in the hope that it “will alleviate the consequences of the armed conflict for the most vulnerable.” During a one-hour reading of the court’s findings in The Hague, Netherlands, Israel was criticized time and again for its extraordinary use of force in Gaza, for top officials inciting the public in a way that dehumanized Palestinians, and for the tens of thousands of dead and wounded among the territory’s civilian population. With inputs from AP.