South Africa awed the world last month by dealing a devastating blow to the genocidal Zionist onslaught against Gaza at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Pretoria’s legal team made an impressive, well-evidenced and articulate case that brought never-before-seen global scrutiny to the occupation regime’s brutal killing of tens of thousands of Palestinians – many of them women, children and elderly – across the densely populated 41-kilometer (25-mile) strip.
While the ICJ stopped short of calling for an immediate cease-fire, it ruled that South Africa’s allegations of genocide were plausible. The court demanded that the occupation refrain from acts under the Genocide Convention, preserve evidence of genocide, stop and take punitive action against those within the Zionist entity who publicly incite it and act immediately to ensure that humanitarian aid sufficiently reaches Gaza’s beleaguered civilian population.
Yet, perhaps one of the most significant of the court’s decisions was its order that the Zionists must report measures taken to comply with the ruling back to the court within a month of its Jan. 26 issue date. It is hard to remember a time when the occupation has been formally held accountable for its actions in such a way – if there ever was one.
The monumental significance of this order is matched only by the moral bankruptcy of many Western leaders, who have aided and abetted the occupation’s flagrant violations of international law for years. The United States has repeatedly abused its permanent United Nations Security Council member status by vetoing resolutions condemning the Zionists’ illegal actions on 46 occasions, from the invasion of Lebanon to the annexation and occupation of Syria’s Golan Heights. A shocking 34 of these vetoes were directly related to the situation in Palestine.
And yet, the ICJ – the U.N.’s most senior legal body – still issued this ruling, despite “great power” opposition and disapproval. The landmark case is an inspiring reminder of the statement of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, that our world is “bigger than five,” and that a united Global South together with other friendly countries has the power to flex its muscles and change the status quo.
The momentum is already gathering, and it would be a strategic miscalculation to let this fade. South Africa has led the way, but it is Türkiye that has the power to build on this spectacular effort. One need only look back at President Erdoğan’s inauguration last June to see why. World leaders from Africa, Asia, Europe and South America came together to see Türkiye’s leader sworn in, as did the secretary-generals of NATO and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), reminding us of the country’s immense gravitas and ability to forge partnerships on the international stage.
Who could forget when Türkiye hosted an OIC conference that declared East Jerusalem the capital of Palestine, after the Trump administration’s deeply irresponsible decision to recognize the entirety of the holy city as the occupation’s “eternal capital” in 2017? The country’s close ties with both Ukraine and Russia have made it a venue for talks between the two warring sides, making Türkiye indispensable to peace and security in Europe as well.
This same track record is one of the reasons that prompted me, as an Islamic scholar, to go to great lengths to encourage Turkish voters to support the president’s 2023 election campaign. Erdoğan has proved again and again his country’s potential to be the powerful moral force that this world so desperately needs. Türkiye is a humanitarian superpower that has stood by Afghanistan, a country callously sanctioned into starvation by Western powers. Ankara supported Rohingya refugees tragically forced to flee their homes in Myanmar in circumstances not dissimilar to those of the Palestinians today.
The present situation in Gaza is truly dire, yet reports have already surfaced that Zionist ministers are considering restricting the flow of aid, under domestic pressure from protesters calling for the blocking of its entry into the strip. That such brazen discussions – in essence about violating the ICJ ruling – are taking place so soon cannot go unchallenged.
What can Türkiye do in this situation? The answer is simple as the Quran teaches us: “O believers! Stand firm for justice as witnesses for Allah even if it is against yourselves, your parents, or close relatives.” (Surah An Nisa: 135). But how can Ankara apply this practically? That’s easy, do what it excels at doing, building partnerships. Türkiye has the potential to drive forward a powerful multinational humanitarian coalition. If recent U.N. resolutions are anything to go by, the uptake could be massive. Last December, Türkiye was one of 153 countries to pass a resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza, revealing a myriad of potential supporters, from Venezuela to Algeria, from Sweden to Singapore.
Imagine if Türkiye and only 10, even five of these nations sent ships filled with humanitarian supplies to the waters near Gaza. Could the occupation’s Western backers really face down public opinion at home if images and footage of so many ships being prevented from reaching the Palestinians by the ongoing blockade made the news, or went viral on social media? Would they not put pressure on the Zionists to comply with the court, or agree to a full cease-fire?
I am confident that millions of Muslims both in Türkiye and abroad already aspire to President Erdoğan’s brave stance in support of the Palestinians, and I believe even more so that history would record this act as another of his many great achievements. Perhaps even his greatest.
