South Africa on Friday filed petition at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) requesting the court to declare Israel’s crackdown against the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza as in breach of Israel’s obligations under the 1948 Genocide Convention.
The genocide convention was established after the Jewish Holocaust and criminalizes attempts to destroy a people wholly or partially.
South Africa believes Isreals action in Gaza qualifies as genocide and is requesting the ICJ to order Israel to take all actions “necessary in this case to protect against further, severe and irreparable harm to the rights of the Palestinian people.”
In a statement from South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO), the government said the application against Israel was filed 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,” DIRCO said in a statement.
But Israel’s foreign ministry called the South African application “baseless“. In its statement it said, “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.”
It put the blame for the suffering of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip squarely on Hamas who it alleged is using Palestinians as human shields and even seizing humanitarian aid sent in from international relief agencies from civilians. Hamas vehemently denies it.
Palestine, which although not yet a full state enjoys an “observer state” status in the ICJ, and welcomed South Africa’s suit.
“The court must immediately take action to protect the Palestinian people and call on Israel, the occupying power, to halt its onslaught,” the Palestinian Foreign Ministry prayed the court in a statement.
The ICJ located in The Hague, Netherlands, is often referred to as the World Court and has jurisdiction to resolve disputes between sovereign states. Although considered the highest court of the United Nations, its rulings have no force of enforcement and routinely only carries a moral weight.
In a previous ruling for example, in which it demanded the halt of Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine, it fell on Putin’s deaf ears. Even if the South African petition is successful, there is little hope Israel will pay any attention. To make matters worse, Israel did not sign up to ICC membership and rejects its jurisdiction over her.
This legal move is the latest in a series of actions by South Africa, a vocal critic of Israel’s policies. Last month, her parliament voted to close the Israeli embassy in Pretoria and suspend diplomatic relations.
South Africa has long supported the Palestinian quest for statehood in Israeli-occupied territories, drawing parallels between the Palestinian struggle and that of Black Africans against Apartheid South Africa—a comparison Israel rejects.
Hostilities began Oct. 7 when Hama, without provocation, began a cross-border attack on Israel killing at least 1,200 people and taking 240 hostages. Israel’s massive military response has resulted in the death of over 21,000 people, according to Palestinian health authorities.Â
The continued onslaught now irks the conscience of the world, with even the United State – a strong ally of Israel urging a scale down in hostilities.
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