Russian experts say ICJ should take harsher decisions against Israel

MOSCOW

Russian experts said that the International Court of Justice (ICJ) should take harsher decisions against Israel, as the conflict in Gaza that has killed more than 29,000 Palestinians continues.

"These decisions are soft, they could have been harsher. Everything has been formulated on a basic level, but despite this, the ICJ has no opportunity to put pressure on Israel and ensure the implementation of these decisions," Fyodor Lukyanov, research director of the Valdai Discussion Club, told Anadolu.

Expressing that although most of the international community supports these decisions and condemns Israeli actions in Gaza, Lukyanov said they live in a world "where the moral dimension plays a very minor role."

He said Israel will not achieve its military and political goals amid the great civilian losses and destruction in Gaza, but the issue of creating a Palestinian state may not be resolved, which would mean that all these losses may be "in vain."

Arguing that the international community's attempts to stop Israel's attacks in Gaza and to improve the situation are not sufficient, Lukyanov said that Middle Eastern countries are playing a stronger role in regional politics due to the limited opportunities for external powers to resolve the issue.

"Even the US does not have the tools to influence Israel. Even Americans want to end this tragedy, but the Israeli administration thinks differently. China is watching the situation from the sidelines. Even Russia has different priorities for the coming years," he said.

Lukyanov also said that the more responsibilities regional countries assume, the faster they can solve their own problems "without turning to external powers and without suppressing each other." He argued that foreign powers are playing a “destabilizing role” and that the situation would be better without them.

He said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's political future depends on the outcome of the conflict, but added that Israeli citizens will ask Netanyahu questions about many issues soon after the war ends and Netanyahu's political life may come to an end.

Situation in Gaza 'extremely tragic'

Meanwhile, Andrey Bystritskiy, chairman of the board of the Valdai Discussion Club, told Anadolu that he thinks the situation in Gaza is "extremely tragic."

"I think the situation is extremely tragic, it has reached a dead end and no one knows how to stop it. This issue will not be resolved without a scaled and broad approach and a comprehensive solution," he said.

Expressing that such a solution requires initiatives from actors such as Türkiye, Russia, Iran, Europe, the US and others, Bystritskiy criticized the policies of the West, especially the US, on the Middle East and Palestine, defining it as "very selfish and superficial."

"Although the situation in the Middle East has changed radically, the West wants to maintain its dominance, power and influence over the region," he said.

Bystritskiy further drew attention to the risk of increasing tension in the Middle East, saying that resolving the Palestine issue requires "coordinated actions by elites in the region and countries outside the region," and that a radical solution could lead to a major crisis in Israel and major difficulties in surrounding countries.

He went on to say that the ICJ displayed an "equivocal position" in its decision regarding Gaza and "only called but did not condemn.”

"Despite the difficulties, Russia and Türkiye have been able to act simultaneously and beneficially for both the situation in the region and each other," he added.