Climate activist Greta Thunberg is joining local residents, Extinction Rebellion activists and climate change campaigners outside Farnborough Airport today (27 January) to protest against plans to increase private jet flights from 50,000 to 70,000 a year. The protesters are also calling for a total ban on private jets, which are up to 30 times more polluting than passenger airliners.
Greta Thunberg said: “The fact that using private jets is both legally and socially allowed today in an escalating climate emergency is completely detached from reality.
“There are few examples that show as clearly how the rich elite is sacrificing present and future living conditions on this planet so they can maintain their extreme and violent lifestyles.”
Hundreds of protestors will gather in Farnborough town centre at 11am today to march alongside Thunberg to Farnborough Airport, setting off pink smoke flares and waving banners proclaiming ‘Flying to Extinction’, ‘Stop Private Flights Now’, ‘No to Airport Expansion’ and ‘Private Flights = Public Deaths’.
This is the latest in a series of protests against the airport’s planning application, which seeks to more than double weekend flights and boost the use of heavier, more polluting private jets. In 2022, there were 33,120 flights to and from the airport, a 27% increase compared to 2021’s total of 26,007. Flights to and from Farnborough averaged just 2.5 passengers per flight. Currently 40% of flights to and from the airport are empty, according to research by campaign group Possible. Despite claiming the majority of flights are for business use, the research showed that most Farnborough flights are headed to holiday destinations. Last September a ‘pets on jets’ service launched to fly dogs and their owners from Dubai to Farnborough and back.
Todd Smith, former airline pilot and Extinction Rebellion spokesperson, said: “Flying is the fastest way to fry the planet, and private jets are the most polluting way to fly. Surely it’s a no brainer to ban private jets and stop expanding these luxury airports in the midst of a climate crisis? Survey after survey, as well as several citizens’ assemblies have shown this would be very popular and has widespread support from the general public.
“For most people, life has become more difficult. The cost of heating our homes, buying food and paying our bills has increased massively. So imagine looking out our windows to see yet more private jets flying billionaires around.
“Is this a fair society that we live in, or is there one set of rules for the majority, and another for the elites? Plans to expand the UK’s largest private jet airport seem to make this clear.”
Godalming resident Chris Neill, 67, a retired psychotherapist, said: “We’re in a global climate and ecological emergency. We need to reduce carbon emissions fast and there’s no realistic plan for taking the carbon out of jet fuel. Until there is, we need to fly much less, not more.
“This plan to expand a luxury airport used exclusively by very wealthy people at a time when ordinary people are struggling to manage everyday life is reckless, stupid and selfish. We need a government which has the courage to stop this.”
While the Court did not grant South Africa’s request for an immediate suspension of Israel’s military operations, it has ordered Israel take “all measures” to prevent acts of genocide in Gaza, including by its military
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has ruled in favor of South Africa’s request for provisional measures in its case against Israel over the ongoing war on Gaza. The request is part of an application filed by Pretoria, accusing Israel of violating its obligations under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
In a ruling issued on January 26, the Court determined that it had jurisdiction over the matter, and as such, rejected Israel’s request for the case to be dismissed.
While reading Friday’s ruling, Judge Joan Donoghue reiterated that at the stage for the request for provisional measures, the court is not required to ascertain whether any violations of Israel’s obligations under the Genocide Convention have occurred, but whether the acts complained of “appear to be capable” of falling under its provisions.
“In the court’s view, at least some of the acts and omissions alleged by South Africa have been committed by Israel in Gaza appear to be capable of falling within the provisions of the Convention”, the ICJ’s order states.
The Court also recognized that the Palestinians in Gaza formed a substantial part of the Palestinian people as a protected group under Article II of the Convention, which defines genocide as “acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.”
“The Court notes that the military operation being conducted by Israel following the attack of 7 October 2023 has resulted in a large number of deaths and injuries, as well as massive destruction of homes, forcible displacement of the vast majority of the population and extensive damage to civilian infrastructure.”
Donaghue went on to cite statements by the UN humanitarian chief, Martin Griffiths, who had stated on January 5 that Gaza had “become a place of death and despair”, and that its people were witnessing “daily threats to their very existence.” She also quoted statements from the WHO, as well as the head of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) , Philippe Lazzarini, who stated on January 13 that the “clock is ticking fast towards famine.”
The Court recognized the right of the Palestinian people to be protected from acts of genocide.
Importantly, the ICJ took note of the statements made by senior Israeli officials — statements meticulously documented in Pretoria’s application as evidence of an intent to commit genocide.
Donaghue read aloud Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant’s declaration of the “complete siege of Gaza,” his reference to Palestinians as “human animals,” and his call to “eliminate everything.” Also mentioned were Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s remarks that there is “an entire nation out there that is responsible” and “we will fight until we break their backbone.”
Noting that Israel’s military operations in Gaza strip were ongoing, quoting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the war would take “many more long months” — at a time when Palestinians did not have access to food, water, electricity, medicines or heating, as well as indications that maternal and newborn death rates are expected to increase— the Court stated that the “catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza strip is at serious risk of deteriorating further before the court renders its final judgment.”
The Court further stated that the steps Israel had taken to address the conditions in Gaza, and the remarks by its Attorney General that a call for intentional harm to civilians may amount to a criminal offense of incitement, were insufficient.
Pending a final decision in the case, “the Court considers that there is an urgency…there is a real and imminent risk that irreparable prejudice will be caused to the rights found by the Court to be plausible…The court concludes…that the conditions required …for provisional measures are met.”
The first provisional measure sought by South Africa was an immediate suspension of Israel’s military operations in and against Gaza. On January 25, Hamas had also stated that it would abide by a ceasefire if it was ordered by the ICJ, as long as Israel did the same.
The ICJ in its order made no mention of this request, and as observers have highlighted, did not discuss military action, a ceasefire, or the question of self-defense— in its advisory opinion in 2004, the ICJ had determined that Israel could not claim this right in relation to a territory it was occupying.
However, it has indicated a series of provisional measures, each approved with an overwhelming majority among the 17-judge-panel, which are binding in effect and place “international legal obligations” to the State Party to whom they are addressed — in this case, Israel.
First, by 15 votes to 2, Israel must “take all measures within its powers to prevent the commission of all acts within the scope of the Convention.” These acts include a) killing members of the group, b) causing serious bodily or mental harm” and c) deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part and d) imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group.
Second, with 15 votes in favor, Israel shall ensure with immediate effect that its military does not commit any acts described in point 1. By 16 to 1 votes, Israel shall take all measures within its power to prevent and punish the direct and public incitement to commit genocide in relation to Palestinians in Gaza.
Fourth, with 16 votes, Israel has been ordered to “take immediate and effective measures to ensure the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance to address the adverse conditions of life” in Gaza. By 15 to two votes, Israel must also take “effective measures to prevent the destruction and ensure the preservation of evidence” related to allegations under the Genocide Convention. In its application, South Africa had also requested that Israel “shall not act to deny or otherwise restrict access by fact-finding missions, international mandates and other bodies to Gaza to assist in ensuring the preservation and retention of said evidence.”
Finally, Israel has to submit a report to the ICJ on “all measures taken to give effect to this order” within one month as from the date of the order (January 26). This was approved with 15 votes in favor.
Under the statute of the ICJ, it will now notify the UN Security Council of the provisional measures ordered. Given that the Court lacks an enforcement mechanism, questions remain on how these measures will be operationalized.
Prime Minister Netanyahu responded to Friday’s ruling by calling the charge of genocide as “false” and “outrageous,” adding that “Israel would continue to defend itself against Hamas.”
Senior Hamas official, Sami Abu Zahri, told Reuters that the ruling was an “important development that contributes to isolating the occupation and exposing its crimes in Gaza. We call for compelling the occupation to implement the court’s decision.”
The Palestinian foreign ministry stated that the ruling “breaks Israel’s entrenched culture of criminality and impunity, which has characterized its decades-long occupation, dispossession, persecution and apartheid in Palestine…Governments must ensure that they are not complicit in this genocide…This is now a binding legal obligation.”
The Court’s ruling will raise significant questions of the obligations of other State Parties to the Genocide Convention.
As South Africa noted in its statement on Friday, “Third States are now on notice of the existence of a serious risk of genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza. They must, therefore, also act independently and immediately to prevent genocide by Israel and to ensure that they are not themselves in violation of the Genocide Convention including by aiding or assisting in the commission of genocide.”
“This necessarily imposes an obligation on all States to cease funding and facilitating Israel’s military actions, which are plausibly genocidal.”
It further warned that “the veto power wielded by individual states [in the Security Council] cannot be permitted to thwart international justice, not least in light of the ever-worsening situation in Gaza brought about by Israel’s acts and omissions in violation of the Genocide Convention.”
The Commons Leader sought to rouse support for the Prime Minister just days after Sir Simon Clarke called for him to be replaced.
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Ms Mordaunt added: “He doesn’t just get Britain, he represents the best of Great Britain, the greatest things we have to offer and what they mean to the world and our values: hard work, enterprise, taking personal responsibility for yourself and helping others.
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Ms Mordaunt added: “If the leader of the Opposition is a weathervane, our Prime Minister is a sign post.
Should the court rule in South Africa’s favor, said one advocate, “it is the international community’s responsibility to ensure that Israel obeys this verdict without delay.”
A global human rights coalition expressed hope Thursday that the imminent verdict by the International Court of Justice will be a step toward “stopping the genocide in Palestine” as authorities in Gaza reported new attacks on civilians and alleged violations of international law.
The ICJ said this week that it will announce its verdict on Friday at 7:00 am ET in the genocide case brought by South Africa against Israel.
The verdict comes two weeks after South African officials presented evidence not only that Israel is carrying out the “mass killing of Palestinians in Gaza,” but also that top Israeli officials have made clear that their goal in the military operation that’s now stretched on for nearly four months is to clear Gaza of the 2.3 million people who live there—either by killing them with air and ground attacks or by forcing them to leave.
Along with United Nations officials, international human rights experts, and a growing number of policymakers from across the globe, South Africa has argued that Israel is engaged in a genocidal assault in Gaza and has committed numerous violations of international law. The country called on the ICJ to adopt “provisional measures” to force Israel—which does not recognize the court’s jurisdiction but is a party to the Genocide Convention—to stop its mass killing and displacement of Gazans.
Rights groups including the PAL Commission on War Crimes, the International Coalition to Stop Genocide in Palestine (ICSGP), the Global Legal Alliance for Palestine, and the Palestinian Assembly for Liberation (PAL) said Thursday that they plan to hold a press conference outside the U.N. headquarters following the announcement of the verdict.
Regardless of the ICJ’s decision, noted PAL Commission on War Crimes founder Lamis Deek, South Africa and its supporter s will have to determine “how to deal with the anticipated U.S.-Israeli obstruction of that decision.”
“On Friday we will respond to the court’s decision and issue calls on state parties to the ICJ and the Genocide Convention as regards their compliance obligations, and address our legal colleagues and our communities regarding the next steps we think will be most critical on the heels of this decision,” said Deek. “The brutal Israeli genocide and torture in Gaza, alongside the targeted assassinations, destruction of civilian infrastructure including all of Gaza’s hospitals and universities, blocking of aid, and use of starvation and spread of disease as a war tactic, constitute a grotesque series of the highest war crimes.”
“The situation in Khan Younis underscores a consistent failure to uphold the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law: distinction, proportionality and precautions in carrying out attacks.”
Should the court rule in South Africa’s favor, added Adrienne Pine, co-coordinator of the ICSGP, “it is the international community’s responsibility to ensure that Israel obeys this verdict without delay.”
Ahead of the ICJ’s verdict, the death toll in Gaza reached at least 25,700, including at least 10,000 children. Israel has claimed that it is targeting Hamas in retaliation for its October 7 attack, and numerous top officials have said they view all Gaza residents as legitimate military targets—a potential violation of the Geneva Conventions, which prohibit collective punishment of a population for the actions of a government or armed group.
On Thursday, human rights experts made clear that Israel’s assault is showing no signs of slowing as the world awaits the verdict, with U.N. Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) affairs director Thomas White reiterating that attacks on civilians are “utterly unacceptable.”
White said fighting intensified in Khan Younis near hospitals, shelters, and a UNRWA training center, all of which are hosting displaced people.
Fighting is escalating in Khan Younis #Gaza – the @UNRWA Training Centre sheltering 10Ks of displaced people has just been hit – buildings ablaze and mass casualties – safe access to/from the centre has been denied for 2 days – people are trapped.
“Twelve people have now been confirmed dead with over 75 injuries, 15 of whom are in a critical condition. Yesterday, the center was hit by two shells and caught fire,” said White. “Heavy fighting near the remaining hospitals in Khan Younis, including Nasser and Al Amal, has effectively encircled these facilities, leaving terrified staff, patients, and displaced people trapped inside. Al Khair hospital has shut down after patients, including women who had just undergone C-section surgeries, were evacuated in the middle of the night.”
“The situation in Khan Younis underscores a consistent failure to uphold the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law: distinction, proportionality, and precautions in carrying out attacks,” said White. “This is unacceptable and abhorrent and must stop.”
Al Jazeera reported that at least 20 Palestinians were killed and 150 more were injured when the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched an attack on people waiting for humanitarian relief in Gaza City.
“The Israeli occupation committed a new massacre against thousands of hungry mouths who were waiting for aid,” said Ashraf al-Qudra, a spokesperson for the Gaza Ministry of Health—whose reporting on casualties has long been backed by the U.N.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian Environmental Quality Authority warned that two-thirds of Palestinians in Gaza are now suffering from water-borne illnesses because Israel’s blockade on fuel and aid has left the enclave without sufficient potable water and the ability to run desalination plants.
Deek said the ICJ’s verdict “could profoundly reshape the geopolitical and legal topography” of how the world responds to Israel’s treatment of Palestinians.
“Billions of people have been waiting with bated breath for this historic moment,” said Deek, “that is poised to change international and domestic approaches—military, legal, and political—to stopping the genocide in Palestine.”
