‘World court missed opportunity on Israel-Palestine war – Nandi-Ndaitwah

Minister of international relations and cooperation Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah on Friday said the principal judicial organ of the United Nations has missed an opportunity to contribute towards international efforts aimed to ensure the cease of Israel’s deliberate actions against innocent Palestinian civilians.

She said this in a media release on the case, concerning the application of the genocide convention in the Gaza Strip (South Africa vs Israel) on Friday.

Nandi-Ndaitwah said Namibia respects the ruling of the International Court Of Justice (ICJ) as a country that subscribes to the rule of international law.

This comes after the ICJ in The Hague ruled by 15 votes to two, in favour of South Africa in its case against Israel in which it is accusing Israel of committing genocide through more than three military attacks on the Gaza Strip.

On Friday, the court noted the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza and ordered Israel to take all the measures necessary to ensure its compliance with the genocide convention and prevent the incitement of genocide.

The court also raised concerns about the situation of Israeli hostages being held captive in Gaza and called for their release.

“Namibia accordingly calls on the United Nations Security Council and the international community to ensure that the provisional measures issued by the ICJ are fully implemented,” she said.

More than 26 000 Palestinians have been killed since 7 October 2023.

“Namibia restates the imperative for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza to avoid the inflicting of further harm and suffering of Palestinian people of Gaza,” she added.

Additionally, she said the execution of Namibia’s policy on international relations and cooperation will not stop her efforts to ensure a cessation of hostilities that ensure respect for human rights of the people of Palestine.