International Court of Justice (ICJ) has been so constantly exercised by one topic during such a short space of time. On 26 January, the World Court accepted Pretoria’s argument that the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide was applicable to the conflict in so far as Israel was bound to observe it in its military operations against Hamas in Gaza. By 15-2, the judges noted: “The catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip is at serious risk of deteriorating further before the