TheCable

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has begun its two days of hearings in a case brought by South Africa against Israel, as the war against Hamas rages in Gaza.

The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza said no fewer than 23,000 persons have been killed so far, nearly 10,000 of them children.

Petitioning the ICJ in December, South Africa said the war violates the 1948 genocide convention.

The 1948 treaty defines genocide as “acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group”.

All states that signed the convention, including Israel and Palestine, are obliged to not commit genocide and also to prevent and punish it.

South Africa said Israel’s actions in Gaza “are genocidal in character, as they are committed with the requisite specific intent… to destroy Palestinians in Gaza as a part of the broader Palestinian national, racial and ethnical group”.

However, Israel rejected the accusations, describing the petition as “blood libel” and accused South Africa of cooperating with a terrorist organisation that is seeking the destruction of the Jewish nation.

While some nations have voiced strong support for South Africa’s case against Israel, others have expressed reservations or outright opposition.

Hours before the ICJ opened the first session of the hearing in The Hague, Brazil’s President Lula Da Silva announced his country’s support for South Africa’s suit.

A statement from the country’s ministry of foreign affairs said Lula supports the South African initiative at the ICJ to “order” Israel to stop acts and measures that could constitute genocide and are “flagrant violations of international humanitarian law”.

Mevlut Cavusoglu, Turkey’s foreign minister, also said “Turkey fully supports South Africa’s initiative to bring Israel before the ICJ for its crimes against humanity and genocide against the Palestinian people”.

Other countries that have voiced support include the 22-member alliance of the Arab League, Pakistan, the Maldives, Namibia, Bolivia, Jordan, Malaysia, Colombia and the 57-member bloc of the Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC).

US, UK OPPOSE

The United States, Israel’s strongest ally, has repeatedly countered efforts to institute a ceasefire in Gaza, saying it would empower Hamas to continue its acts of terrorism.

On January 3, John Kirby, national security spokesperson, described South Africa’s submission as “meritless, counterproductive, and completely without any basis”.

The United Kingdom has also refused to support the case.

However, critics have accused the country of double standard, especially as it had submitted documents to the ICJ about a month ago to support claims that Myanmar committed genocide against the Rohingya community.