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The ICJ ruling is a masterpiece of caution and moderation. Only in Israel, which deceives itself and denies to distraction, can one “breathe a sigh of relief” and even “celebrate” in its wake. A state that is on trial for genocide in the court of the United Nations should be ashamed of itself and not celebrate anything.

A state whose president and senior ministers are suspected of inciting genocide should wear sackcloth, not marvel at its own great imaginary accomplishment. Every Israeli should have squirmed in their seat Friday from the mere fact of the trial, and felt a deep sense of shame and humiliation upon hearing the explanations for the ruling.

There may be Israelis who heard for the first time what their country has done and continues to do in Gaza in this war. This time, not even its propagandist media – which had protected them until now with infinite dedication, showing them nothing – could rush to their aid.

It is a little more difficult to accuse this court of antisemitism now, after it did not order Israel to stop the war. This did not bother the Channel 13 News political correspondent.

Moriah Asraf Wolberg, wearing a necklace with a pendant in the shape of Israel including the West Bank, did not concede to the antisemites of The Hague; she continued to recite the mantra that the court is hypocritical, and the world is hypocritical and Israel is waging the most just and moral war in the world. Anyone who wants to believe this even after the order of the court in The Hague is welcome to do so; one may believe any fiction.

Above all, however, we must pay attention to the wisdom of the court, which focused on Israel’s mainstream, not its fringes. Herzog, a former Labor Party chairman and the most unifying, statesmanlike person in Israel; Gallant, whose dismissal was physically prevented by the protest of the center-left; and Katz, who despite calling Saturday for the prosecution of the head of the UNRWA refugee agency (!), is considered relatively moderate.

They are the main suspects in the incitement to genocide. The incitement to the genocide of the Palestinian people may have been invented by Meir Kahane, but it’s already nearly in the public domain.

In post-October 7 Israel, the proper reaction to the punishment of Gaza is: “It is an entire nation out there that is responsible,” in the words of the president who signs shells; “I have released all restraints. … We are fighting human animals,” as the defense minister said – when he was head of the IDF Southern Command he was fond of calling for cutting off “the head of the snake” – or: “They will not receive a drop of water or a single battery,” as Israel’s No. 1 diplomat, Foreign Minister Katz, threatened on October 13, when he was serving as energy minister.

The judges in The Hague diagnosed perfectly what we here refuse to admit: Israel’s problem is its mainstream, not its lunatic fringes. It is the mainstream that brought us to The Hague, it is the mainstream that incited to genocide, after Israel convinced itself with unbelievable ease that after October 7 everything is permitted. Fortunately, in The Hague they seem to think differently, very differently.

• Even Israel’s president doesn’t know what Israel’s plan for Gaza is
• Israel’s right wing erased the Green Line and amplified Hamas’ narrative
• An artillery shell signed by Israel’s president could have hit a child in Gaza