Ambassador of Palestine to Bangladesh, Yousef S. Y. Ramadan, on Thursday said the recent ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) gives a sense of optimism for the Palestinians to be independent after 75 years of struggle.
"It's the first step on the way. We can build upon this," he said while speaking at the DCAB Talk at Jatiya Press Club.
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Responding to a question, Ambassador Ramadan said they should not just stop there.
"No. We wanted to wait and see. We want to provide ICJ with the evidence that Israel did commit genocide. This is our duty. This is the duty of everyone," he said.
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The envoy added, "That's what we need ....to continue. And ICJ should continue the work to achieve its goal. It should not just relax."
The ambassador said they are extremely grateful to Bangladesh and South Africa for their role. Bangladesh supported the genocide case filed by South Africa with the ICJ.
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Lauding Bangladesh's position, he said this was a very courageous move from Bangladesh.
In the ICJ proceedings, South Africa contended that Israel is violating its obligations under the Genocide Convention with its military assault on Gaza, which began on October 8, 2023, after the attack by Hamas in Israel, which killed 1,200 people and wounded many more. Around 240 people were also taken hostage in the attack.
During oral hearings earlier this month, Israel sought to have the case dismissed by the ICJ judges — a motion that was rejected last Friday (January 26).
The landmark ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) offers the first concrete hope to protect civilians in Gaza enduring apocalyptic humanitarian conditions, destruction, mass killing, wounding and irreparable trauma, UN experts said today.
“The ruling is a significant milestone in the decades-long struggle for justice by the Palestinian people,” the experts said.
The ICJ found it plausible that Israel’s acts could amount to genocide and issued six provisional measures, ordering Israel to take all measures within its power to prevent genocidal acts, including preventing and punishing incitement to genocide, ensuring aid and services reach Palestinians under siege in Gaza, and preserving evidence of crimes committed in Gaza.
“We echo the sense of urgency demonstrated by the Court in its short, two-week deliberation, as hundreds of Palestinians, primarily women and children, are being killed by Israeli forces every day, resulting in a death toll of 26,751 people in Gaza over the past three months. This amounts to over 1% of the population,” they said.
Ambassador Ramadan said that the international community is gradually abandoning Israel that has so far been enjoying impunity just because it is powerful.
On January 30, UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron said Britain is ready to bring forward the moment when it formally recognises a Palestinian state.
He said Palestinians had to be given a political horizon to encourage peace in the Middle East, BBC reported.
When his attention was brought to that, the ambassador said the UK should have been the first to recognise the Palestinian State because all the problems of Palestine were created because of British policy.
He said US President Joe Biden is working very hard to find a solution but he should have done it much earlier.
Ambassador Ramadan said the international community for long has ignored the Palestinians' issue just because Israel is powerful.
"Israel is there fighting us. But who are the countries standing beside it? The powerful countries," he said.
Ambassador Ramadan said he does not represent Hamas or Fattah but the Palestine Liberation Organization.
“This is a very hot issue. Talk about this,” he said, expressing disappointment over the lack of unity among the Muslim countries while he referred to the unity in Europe.
The ambassador said he never felt like a refugee during his nine-year stay in Bangladesh as he always received warmth and love from the people here.
DCAB President Nurul Islam Hasib and its General Secretary Ashiqur Rahman Apu also spoke.
