Israel forced to work on Jewish Sabbath as UN court judge calls out colleagues in scathing dissent

A U.N. International Court of Justice (ICJ) chided her colleagues on Friday for requiring Israel to work on the Sabbath when responding to a case brought by South Africa to the ICJ under the Genocide Convention.

The dissenting opinion from ICJ Vice President Julia Sebutinde came in a nine-page document, issued in response to the court's order for Israel to end its military offensive in the southern city of Rafah in Gaza. That ruling stems from South Africa's request, which accuses Israel of genocide in its ongoing war with Hamas terrorists in Gaza. Israel has vehemently denied these charges.

Among her disagreements with her colleagues, Sebutinde, who is Ugandan, objected to the court's handling of South Africa's request, and the "incidental oral hearings."

"In my view, the Court should have consented to Israel's request to postpone the oral hearings to the following week to allow for Israel to have sufficient time to fully respond to South Africa's Request and engage counsel," Sebutinde wrote, noting that the Israel's preferred Counsel was not available on the dates scheduled by the Court.

"It is also regrettable that Israel was required to respond to a question posed by a Member of the Court over the Jewish Sabbath," Sebutinde said. "The Court's decision in this respect bear upon the procedural equality between the Parties and the good administration of justice by the Court."

Sebutinde also argued that the court’s initial ruling "does not entirely prohibit the Israeli military from operating in Rafah." She also urged the court, to maintain its judicial integrity, to "avoid reacting to every shift in the conflict and refrain from micromanaging the hostilities in the Gaza Strip, including Rafah."

LINDSEY GRAHAM TELLS UN