LONDON

The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) said Friday that international law stands at a "crossroads," as it urged UN Security Council (UNSC) members to stand with the "tools that it created."

It came in a statement from the UK advocacy group after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered Israel to immediately halt its Rafah offensive.

"Given Israel’s blatant disregard for the Court’s authority, emblematic of its increasing willingness to isolate itself on the world’s stage, UNSC member states must recognise what is at stake by their continued inaction in the face of Israel’s non-adherence," it said.

Dania Abul Haj, ICJP’s senior legal officer, said it is not "hyperbole" to say that international law stands today at a "crossroads."

"Israel has demonstrated its total disregard for the World Court’s orders, whilst Western leaders have reacted with everything from dismissal to disdain," noted the Palestinian lawyer.

Asserting that the Global North now has a "simple choice," she said it can stand with the "tools that it created" for the pursuit of global justice and accountability, or it can stand with Israel.

"How the US, UK, and France relate this ruling to their UN Security Council responsibilities will shape the role of not just the ICJ, but of the entire international rules-based order, for decades to come," she added.

On Friday, the top UN court, besides reaffirming its Jan. 26 and March 28 orders, told Israel to “immediately halt its military offensive, and any other action” in Rafah “which may inflict on the Palestinian group in Gaza conditions of life that could bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part.”

Israel has also been ordered to “maintain open the Rafah crossing for unhindered provision at scale of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance” and “take effective measures to ensure the unimpeded access to the Gaza Strip of any commission of inquiry, fact-finding mission or other investigative body mandated by competent organs of the United Nations to investigate allegations of genocide.”