Finland calls on Israel to respect ICJ rulings, international humanitarian law

WAFA

HELSINKI, Tuesday, May 28, 2024 (WAFA) – Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen today called on Israel to respect the International Court of Justice (ICJ) rulings and international humanitarian law.

“Finland has constantly called on Israel to refrain from attacking Rafah, where there are large numbers of displaced Palestinians,” Valtonen said on the “X” platform, commenting on the Israeli attack on the al-Mawasi area near Rafah.

Valtonen expressed her regret "over the killing of many people, including children, in Israeli attacks," and called on all parties to "respect the decisions of the ICJ and international humanitarian law."

Israeli warplanes today struck the al-Mawasi area near Rafah, which had been designated a "humanitarian zone" by the occupation forces, with several missiles, killing at least 21 people and wounding others, mostly children and women.

Within the last 48 hours, the occupation forces killed 72 displaced people in bombing that targeted the tents housing the displaced people in the Israeli designated “safe zone”.

Tuesday's strikes follows Sunday's widely condemned Israeli attack on the camps of the displaced people in Rafah, which killed at least 45 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and wounded some 250 others.

Tuesday’s airstrikes came just four days after the International Court of Justice ordered Israel in a legally binding decision to halt its military offensive in Rafah, which may violate its obligations under the Genocide Convention.

Tried before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7, killing at least 36,096 Palestinians and injuring over 81,136 others.

Moreover, at least 7,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.

Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.

The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.