South Africa and Israel celebrate UN Court decision, but no one won

The International Court of Justice ordered this Friday (26) that Israel take all necessary measures to prevent acts of genocide against Palestinians.

The Court, the UN's highest legal body, also demands that Israel do much more to protect civilians in the Gaza Strip, including greatly increasing the level of humanitarian aid, food and medicine to the Palestinian territory.

However, the Court did not order an immediate ceasefire, as requested by the South African government.

The African country filed the lawsuit alleging that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians. The Court, however, did not go into the main merits of the matter.

In other words, the judges will still investigate whether or not the Israeli government is committing acts of genocide – a decision that could take years.

With Friday's decision (26), the Court dashed the hopes of the Palestinians and dozens of countries, including Brazil, which defended an immediate ceasefire.

But, it was also a partial legal defeat for Israel, which wanted the judges to reject the genocide question entirely.

The Court concluded that there is indeed a case to be made as to whether the rights of Palestinians are being denied in a war that is causing serious humanitarian damage.

In the end, the court tried to accommodate all sides, but it also ended up displeasing everyone.

But even so, it allowed each party involved to create a winning narrative.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the decision, saying it was a rejection of what he called “discrimination” against his country by other UN bodies.

The Palestinian foreign minister said the decision was a welcome reminder that “no state is above the law”.

Even Hamas celebrated: one of its spokesmen said that the decision contributes to “isolating the occupation and exposing its crimes in Gaza”.

But in practical terms, almost nothing. The bloody war, which has already left around 2,000 Israelis and more than 26,000 Palestinians dead, will continue with no plans for a ceasefire.