The International Court of Justice opened hearings on Thursday into South Africa’s allegation that Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in its war with Hamas.
South Africa filed the case against Israel in December, and is asking the United Nations’ top court to order an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
Israel has denied the claims, with Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu saying in a video statement on Wednesday that Israel’s military operaiton was “in fulll compliance with international law”.
South Africa’s identity is similarly involved, with the country having long compared Israel’s policies in Gaza and the West Bank to its own history under the apartheid regime of white minority rule.
The Israeli offensive has killed more than 23,200 Palestinians in Gaza, about two-thirds of whom are women and childen.
The two days of preliminary hearings began with lawyers for South Africa explaining its case against Israel, which will be followed by a response from Israel’s legal team on Friday.
South Africa’s allegations focus on the 1948 genocide convention to which both Israel and South Africa are signatories.
While the ICJ’s rulings are, in theory, legally binding on parties to the ICJ, they are not enforceable.
In its written filing, South Africa says it wants the court “to establish Israel’s responsibility for violations of the Genocide Convention; to hold it fully accountable under international law for those violations” and to “ensure the urgent and fullest possible protection for Palestinians in Gaza who remain at grave and immediate risk of continuing and further acts of genocide.”
Peoplesmind
