Hindi English Translation || Editorial || Punishing Hamas: On Israel and the ICJ ruling

Punishing Hamas: On Israel and the ICJ ruling

Netanyahu is rendering Israel’s global standing (स्थिति, प्रतिष्ठा) weaker

The International Court of Justice’s ruling (निर्णय, फैसला), that Israel must immediately stop its military offensive (आक्रमण, हमला) in Rafah, the southernmost city of Gaza, is the latest setback (बाधा, समस्या) for the Jewish nation in a war that grinds on with heavy civilian (गैर-सैन्य व्यक्ति, साधारण नागरिक) casualties (हताहत, मृतक) and no end in sight (दृष्टि में, दिखाई देना). In January, while hearing a genocide (नरसंहार, जातिसंहार) case against Israel that was filed by South Africa, the United Nation’s top court had asked Tel Aviv to take measures (कदम, उपाय) to prevent acts of genocide in Gaza. The court refused to order a ceasefire (युद्धविराम) then, but has now come to the conclusion that Israel’s Rafah offensive could lead to (कारण बनना, उत्पन्न करना) a complete or partial destruction of the Palestinian population in the city. The court has also asked Israel to keep the Rafah crossing with Egypt open for aid delivery and allow UN investigators to gather evidence about alleged (कथित, माना गया) war crimes, besides (इसके अलावा) demanding an immediate release of all hostages (बंधक, कैदी). The ICJ ruling comes days after the Chief Prosecutor (a lawyer who presents the government’s case against someone accused of a crime; counsel) of the International Criminal Court (an intergovernmental organization and international tribunal that sits in The Hague, Netherlands. The International Criminal Court (ICC) investigates and, where warranted, tries individuals charged with the gravest crimes of concern to the international community: genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of aggression. As a court of last resort, it seeks to complement, not replace, national Courts. Governed by an international treaty called the Rome Statute, the ICC is the world’s first permanent international criminal court), Karim Khan, claimed (state, argue, contend, allege, charge, accuse) that Israeli and Hamas leaders had committed war crimes (युद्ध अपराध) and crimes against humanity (compassion, fellow feeling, kindness, sympathy, consideration; humankind, the human race, human beings, humans, people) in Gaza, and sought arrest warrants (It is a written order issued by a Court to a police officer to arrest and produce an offender or to search his premises for a particular thing) against Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, its Defence Minister Yoav Gallant and Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Deif and Ismail Haniyeh. Israel appears to be unperturbed (untroubled, undisturbed, unworried, unmoved) by these developments (incident, event, occurrence, happening, phenomenon, situation, turn of events). Immediately after the ICJ issued its ruling, Israeli fighter jets pounded Rafah (a Palestinian city in the southern Gaza Strip). The ICJ rulings are binding (obligatory, compulsory, mandatory, necessary; required, essential, imperative), but the court lacks (be without, bee in need of, require, be devoid of) the mechanisms (means, method, medium, channel) to implement them.

More than seven months after the war began, which was triggered (cause, give rise to, lead to, bring about, generate) by Hamas’s October 7 cross border (across a border between two states/countries) attack on Israel in which at least 1,200 people were killed, Tel Aviv (a city on Israel’s Mediterranean coast. (Jerusalem is the capital city of both Israel and Palestine, under their laws. Most other countries disagree. Most countries have their embassies with Israel in Tel Aviv)) seems to be fighting in the dark (do not know anything about; unaware of, ignorant of, unconversant with, unacquainted with). When it launched the war, Mr. Netanyahu said he would crush (defeat, suppress, overcome, triumph over, vanquish, quell, quash) Hamas and release hostages. Today, Israel is fighting Hamas even in northern and central Gaza (a Palestinian city in the Gaza Strip. Gaza Strip is a self-governing Palestinian territory surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea, Israel and Egypt) where it had earlier declared victory. At least 120 hostages, most of them feared dead, are still in Hamas’s captivity (imprisonment, incarceration, arrest, restraint, confinement, internment, detention, custody). The war is marked (denote, identify, indicate; evaluate, assess) not just by the incompetence (inability, lack of ability, incapability, incapacity) of the Israeli Defence Forces. Its disproportionate (inordinate, excessive, immoderate, undue, unreasonable, unjustifiable) use of force on Gaza has made the strip (a long, narrow piece of land) into a graveyard (cemetery, burial ground), which has turned international public opinion against Israel. Last week’s decision by Norway, Ireland and Spain to recognise ((formally) acknowledge, accept, admit (of a statehood)) the state of Palestine shows how the line of thinking (way of thinking) is changing even in the West (The Western world/civilization consisting of the majority of Europe & the North America). Mr. Netanyahu appears to be irrationally (unreasonably, thoughtlessly, erratically, illogically) adamant today. His only focus is on a war that has done little to bolster (strengthen, support, make stronger, reinforce, buttress) Israel’s security. Israel has not met its military objectives; its deterrence (the act of deterring/stopping someone from doing something) has been broken twice, peace with Arabs stands shattered (ruined, damaged, broken, dreadful, terrible, awful), it stands isolated in the world, there could be an arrest warrant against its leaders and there is a ruling by the ICJ against the way it is conducting the war. By seeking (try, aim, attempt) to punish the entire Palestinian population in Gaza for what Hamas did, Mr. Netanyahu is rendering Israel’s standing weaker and the international support for the Palestinian cause (reason, grounds, basis, motive, purpose, justification, necessity) to grow stronger.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Important Word List With Meaning

1.ruling (noun)

Hindi Meaning - निर्णय, फैसला
English Meaning - verdict, decree, judgement, decision, pronouncement.

2.hostage (noun)

Hindi Meaning - बंधक, कैदी
English Meaning - a person captured or held as security for the fulfilment of certain conditions/terms.

3.standing (noun)

Hindi Meaning - स्थिति, प्रतिष्ठा
English Meaning - position, status, reputation, stature.

4.offensive (noun)

Hindi Meaning - आक्रमण, हमला
English Meaning - attack, assault, onslaught, raid, act of war, incursion, invasion.

5.setback (noun)

Hindi Meaning - बाधा, समस्या
English Meaning - problem, difficulty, issue.

6.civilian (noun as modifier)

Hindi Meaning - गैर-सैन्य व्यक्ति, साधारण नागरिक
English Meaning - non-military person, ordinary citizen.

7.casualty (noun)

Hindi Meaning - हताहत, मृतक
English Meaning - victim, fatality, mortality (people killed in a war).

8.in sight (phrase)

Hindi Meaning - दृष्टि में, दिखाई देना
English Meaning - noticeable, visible, in view; near at hand.

9.genocide (noun)

Hindi Meaning - नरसंहार, जातिसंहार
English Meaning - mass murder, massacre, racial killing.

10.measure (noun)

Hindi Meaning - कदम, उपाय
English Meaning - action, step, procedure.

11.ceasefire (noun)

Hindi Meaning - युद्धविराम
English Meaning - a negotiated agreement that will be accompanied by other associated commitments to de-escalate the fighting; a temporary stoppage of war, truce, armistice.

12.lead to (verb)

Hindi Meaning - कारण बनना, उत्पन्न करना
English Meaning - cause, bring on, bring about, result in, produce, give rise to.

13.alleged (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - कथित, माना गया
English Meaning - supposed, so-called, purported, reported, presumed.

14.war crime (noun)

Hindi Meaning - युद्ध अपराध
English Meaning - According to the United Nations, a war crime is a serious violation/breach of international law committed against civilians or “enemy combatants” during an international or domestic armed conflict.

15.besides (preposition)

Hindi Meaning - इसके अलावा
English Meaning - apart from, other than, barring, excluding.

16.render (verb)

English Meaning - make, cause to be/become.

17.Tel Aviv (proper noun)

English Meaning - a city on Israel’s Mediterranean coast. (Jerusalem is the capital city of both Israel and Palestine, under their laws. Most other countries disagree. Most countries have their embassies with Israel in Tel Aviv).

18.Hamas (noun)

English Meaning - Hamas is an Islamist militant group based in Gaza.

19.The International Court of Justice (ICJ) / World Court (noun)

English Meaning - It is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations (UN). It was established in June 1945 by the Charter of the United Nations and began work in April 1946. The seat (headquarters) of the Court is at the Peace Palace in The Hague (Netherlands).

20.Rafah (noun)

English Meaning - a Palestinian city in the southern Gaza Strip.

21.Gaza (noun)

English Meaning - a Palestinian city in the Gaza Strip. Gaza Strip is a self-governing Palestinian territory surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea, Israel and Egypt.

22.grind on (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - to continue for a long time.

23.prosecutor (noun)

English Meaning - a lawyer who presents the government’s case against someone accused of a crime; counsel.

24.International Criminal Court (ICC) (noun)

English Meaning - an intergovernmental organization and international tribunal that sits in The Hague, Netherlands. The International Criminal Court (ICC) investigates and, where warranted, tries individuals charged with the gravest crimes of concern to the international community: genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of aggression. As a court of last resort, it seeks to complement, not replace, national Courts. Governed by an international treaty called the Rome Statute, the ICC is the world’s first permanent international criminal court.

25.claim (verb)

English Meaning - state, argue, contend, allege, charge, accuse.

26.humanity (noun)

English Meaning - compassion, fellow feeling, kindness, sympathy, consideration; humankind, the human race, human beings, humans, people.

27.sought past and past participle of seek (verb)

English Meaning - ask for, request, call on, appeal, apply, petition for.

28.arrest warrant (noun)

English Meaning - It is a written order issued by a Court to a police officer to arrest and produce an offender or to search his premises for a particular thing.

29.unperturbed (adjective)

English Meaning - untroubled, undisturbed, unworried, unmoved.

30.development (noun)

English Meaning - incident, event, occurrence, happening, phenomenon, situation, turn of events.

31.pound (verb)

English Meaning - strike, hit, attack with bombs.

32.binding (adjective)

English Meaning - obligatory, compulsory, mandatory, necessary; required, essential, imperative.

33.lack (verb)

English Meaning - be without, bee in need of, require, be devoid of.

34.mechanism (noun)

English Meaning - means, method, medium, channel.

35.trigger (verb)

English Meaning - cause, give rise to, lead to, bring about, generate.

36.cross border (adjective)

English Meaning - across a border between two states/countries.

37.in the dark (phrase)

English Meaning - do not know anything about; unaware of, ignorant of, unconversant with, unacquainted with.

38.crush (verb)

English Meaning - defeat, suppress, overcome, triumph over, vanquish, quell, quash.

39.captivity (noun)

English Meaning - imprisonment, incarceration, arrest, restraint, confinement, internment, detention, custody.

40.mark (verb)

English Meaning - denote, identify, indicate; evaluate, assess.

41.incompetence (noun)

English Meaning - inability, lack of ability, incapability, incapacity.

42.disproportionate (adjective)

English Meaning - inordinate, excessive, immoderate, undue, unreasonable, unjustifiable.

43.strip (noun)

English Meaning - a long, narrow piece of land.

44.graveyard (noun)

English Meaning - cemetery, burial ground.

45.recognise (verb)

English Meaning - (formally) acknowledge, accept, admit (of a statehood).

46.line of thinking (noun phrase)

English Meaning - way of thinking.

47.the West (noun)

English Meaning - The Western world/civilization consisting of the majority of Europe & the North America.

48.irrationally (adverb)

English Meaning - unreasonably, thoughtlessly, erratically, illogically.

49.bolster (verb)

English Meaning - strengthen, support, make stronger, reinforce, buttress.

50.deterrence (noun)

English Meaning - the act of deterring/stopping someone from doing something.

51.shattered (adjective)

English Meaning - ruined, damaged, broken, dreadful, terrible, awful.

52.seek (verb)

English Meaning - try, aim, attempt.

53.cause (noun)

English Meaning - reason, grounds, basis, motive, purpose, justification, necessity.