AMSTERDAM: On Friday, South Africa petitioned the ICJ for an immediate ruling stating that Israel’s crackdown on the Palestinian party Hamas in Gaza violated its duties under the 1948 Genocide Convention.
When international disputes arise, the United Nations refers to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), commonly called the World Court. As a response, Israel’s foreign ministry called the lawsuit “baseless.”
It is a crime to attempt the destruction of a people in whole or in part, according to the treaty formed after the Holocaust, which South Africa said Israel was breaking its commitments under in its filing.
It said that this action was “necessary in this case to protect against further, severe and irreparable harm to the rights of the Palestinian people” and urged the court to impose temporary measures compelling Israel to end its military campaign in Gaza.
The hearing has not been scheduled yet.
International Court of Justice decisions are not always followed, despite the fact that it is the highest court of the United Nations. The court mandated that Russia end its military intervention in Ukraine in March 2022.
Israel denies the request to
The Palestinian resistance group Hamas launched a cross-border raid on Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people and capturing 240 captives, according to Israel’s estimates. This triggered the war. Palestinian medical authorities estimate that around 21,000 people were killed when Israel launched an attack on Gaza, which is administered by Hamas.
The Israeli foreign ministry initially reacted to South Africa’s lawsuit by accusing Hamas of diverting humanitarian supplies from the Gaza Strip and deploying Palestinians as human shields, something that Hamas strongly refutes.
“Israel has made it clear that the residents of the Gaza Strip are not the enemy, and is making every effort to limit harm to the non-involved,” the statement from the ministry.
With its “observer state” status recognised by the court, Palestine—whose statehood is under dispute—expressed its delight at South Africa’s legal action.
“The court must immediately take action to protect the Palestinian people and call on Israel, the occupying power, to halt its onslaught,” stated the Palestinian Foreign Ministry.
South Africa has been a vocal opponent of Israel’s war, and its MPs recently decided to close the Israeli embassy in Pretoria and halt diplomatic relations; now, they are stepping up their pressure with a court appeal.
The South African government announced in a statement released by the DIRCO that the application was lodged against Israel on Friday.
“Israel, since 7 October 2023 in particular, has failed to prevent genocide and has failed to prosecute the direct and public incitement to genocide,” a statement from DIRCO read.
Despite Israel’s repeated denials, South Africa has long supported Palestinian statehood in Israeli-occupied lands, drawing parallels between the Palestinians’ situation and that of South Africa’s Black majority under apartheid.
Although it has not yet identified any individuals as suspects, a separate investigation into suspected crimes in Gaza and the West Bank is underway in The Hague’s International Criminal Court (ICC). Both Israel and the International Criminal Court (ICC) deny that it has jurisdiction over the Jewish state.
