• Along with ICC prosecutor’s request for indictment of Israeli leaders, order 'is a 1-2 legal punch to conduct of Israel’s war,' rights lawyer Reed Brody tells Anadolu
• 'I would expect states to call an immediate meeting of Security Council to enforce this decision,' says Brody

ISTANBUL

As many question Israel’s intentions of complying with the new orders of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), a renowned war crimes prosecutor said the world court has left Israel and its Western backers with “very little wiggle room.”

“This legally binding and very specific ruling leaves Israel and its supporters with very little wiggle room,” Reed Brody told Anadolu.

The ICJ's directive not only demands an immediate cessation of military operations but also calls for the opening of the Rafah crossing, as well as unhindered access for international fact-finding missions.

According to the Hungarian-American human rights lawyer, who had been involved in the prosecutions of Chile’s former President Augusto Pinochet and Chad’s former leader Hissene Habre, the ICJ has "stepped up to the plate with a decision that responds to the escalating gravity of the situation."

“It has crossed a threshold, for the first time, by ordering Israel to halt military operations as well as to open the Rafah crossing and other crossings and allow access to international fact-finding missions," said Brody.

Speaking about the significance of ICC prosecutor Karim Khan's application for arrest warrants for Israeli leaders earlier this week, he said: “Together with the ICC prosecutor’s request for indictments of Prime Minister (Benjamin) Netanyahu and other top Israeli and Hamas officials, these actions are a 1-2 legal punch to the conduct of Israel’s war in Gaza.”

To a question about the implementation of the order by Israel, Brody said that he expects the UN member states to take action.

“I would expect states to call an immediate meeting of the Security Council to enforce this decision. The pressure will then be on the United States to decide whether it will uphold international law as determined by the world’s highest judicial body," he said.