ICJ must act now to stop Israel: President Muizzu

President Dr Mohamed Muizzu, in a tweet he sent out earlier today, has strongly condemned Israel's invasion of Rafah, the southernmost city of the Gaza strip, Palestine where more than 1.5 million people are currently seeking refuge from Israel's relentless attacks.

"The scenes currently unfolding in the Gaza Strip, especially in Rafah, are of despair, displacement and death. The international community must not and will not remain silent while Gaza lies in ruins at the hands of Israeli forces," the President said.

He added that Israel must stop the brutal attacks on the Palestinian people at once and comply with international law and called for the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to act immediately.

"The Maldives fully supports South Africa’s request for additional provisional measures in light of the recent attacks on Rafah," he said.

President Dr Muizzu also made it clear that the Maldives and its people will continue to stand with the people of Palestine in their struggle for self-determination and their right to an independent state based on the pre-1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.

"We will not rest until Palestinian statehood is a reality, and our brothers and sisters in Palestine are able to live a life of dignity, peace and prosperity," he ended.

Palestine's ethnic cleansing by Israeli forces began as early as the 1948 Nakba and since then Palestine has become a besieged enclave overtime.

The current events taking place in Palestine began on October 7th after Hamas initiated an attack on Israel, killing over 800 and capturing 240 hostages according to Israeli authorities. Since then Israel has initiated a war against Palestinians with the claim of wanting to eliminate Hamas and rescue the hostages.

However, during this time Israel's forces have bombed hospitals and schools, designated safety routes for evacuation, carpet bombed residential areas, while necessary humanitarian aid remains blocked into Gaza strip through Rafah borders.

Citing multiple war crimes committed by Israel, South Africa initiated legal action against Israel at the ICJ which issued a temporary refrain from any acts that could fall under the Genocide Convention and to ensure its troops commit no genocidal acts against Palestinians in Gaza. However, compliance is yet to be seen even with America's lukewarm warning.