South Africa on Friday filed a case against Israel at the International Court of Justice, accusing it of carrying out genocidal acts during its war on Gaza.
The International Court of Justice is based in the Hague in the Netherlands and is the legal body of the United Nations. The court settles disputes between states and gives advisory opinions on international legal issues.
In its application, South Africa alleged that Israel violated its obligations under the Genocide Convention.
“The acts and omissions by Israel complained of by South Africa are genocidal in character because they are intended to bring about the destruction of a substantial part of the Palestinian national, racial and ethnical group, that being the part of the Palestinian group in the Gaza Strip (‘Palestinians in Gaza’),” the application said.
Over 21,500 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since October 7, amid Israel’s war on the besieged region, reported The Guardian. The war, triggered after the attack on southern Israel by Palestinian militant group Hamas, has entered its 12th week. Hamas’ attack on Israel had killed 1,200 people and the group had taken more than 200 hostages.
South Africa has urged the international court to convene in the next few days to issue provisional measures calling for a ceasefire.
“It is important to place the acts of genocide in the broader context of Israel’s conduct towards Palestinians during its 75-year-long apartheid, its 56-yearlong belligerent occupation of Palestinian territory and its 16-year-long blockade of Gaza, including the serious and ongoing violations of international law associated therewith, including grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention, and other war crimes and crimes against humanity,” it said.
Israel, however, rejected the allegations made by South Africa on Saturday.
“South Africa’s claim lacks both a factual and a legal basis, and constitutes a despicable and contemptuous exploitation of the Court,” Lior Haiat, the spokesperson for Israel’s foreign ministry said in a tweet. “South Africa is cooperating with a terrorist organization that is calling for the destruction of the State of Israel.”
He alleged that Hamas has been using civilians in Gaza as human shields to execute its terror activities against Israel.
“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 civilians and to facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip,” Haiat said. “We call on the International Court of Justice and the international community to completely reject South Africa’s baseless claims.”
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