Aharon Barak, former Chief Justice of Israel’s Supreme Court and a judge on the International Court of Justice (ICJ) panel weighing genocide charges against Israel, announced his resignation from the ICJ on Wednesday in a letter widely circulated on X (formerly Twitter).

The letter was addressed to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and said that Barak was resigning from his position as an ad hoc judge due to personal and family reasons.

Barak was a member of the 15-judge panel at the UN’s top court that considered South Africa’s charges of genocide against Israel. He voted against the decision to order Israel to halt military operations in Rafah, and claimed that the ICJ did not order such a halt. Barak wrote a dissenting opinion saying that South Africa’s request was “rejected” and its “tactics failed” due to the “the specific, credible and up-to-date evidence provided by Israel, expertly and convincingly presented by its legal team during the hearings.”

He continued:

The Court’s first measure is […] limited to offensive (and not defensive) military action in Rafah, and requires a halt only in so far as is necessary to protect the Palestinian group in Gaza from conditions of life that could bring about its physical destruction’… The measure is a qualified one, which preserves Israel’s right to prevent and repel threats and attacks by Hamas, defend itself and its citizens, and free the hostages.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog responded to Barak’s resignation by thanking him for his service and saying that Barak made important contributions to law in Israel and the world. Herzog stressed that Israel will continue to defend itself against accusations like South Africa’s at the ICJ.