South Africa yesterday accused Israel of breaching the UN Genocide Convention, saying that even the deadly Oct. 7 Hamas attack could not justify such alleged actions, as it opened a case at the top UN court.
Pretoria has lodged an urgent appeal to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to force Israel to “immediately suspend” its military operations in Gaza.
Israel has dismissed the case as “atrocious” and “preposterous” and is to lay out its defense today.
Photo: Reuters
“No armed attack on a state territory no matter how serious ... can provide justification for or defend breaches of the convention,” South African Minister of Justice and Correctional Services Ronald Lamola said.
“Israel’s response to the October 7 attack has crossed this line and given rise to the breaches of the convention,” he added.
The war in Gaza erupted when Hamas launched its unprecedented attack, which resulted in about 1,140 people being killed in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an Agence France-Presse tally based on official figures.
Israel has responded with a relentless military campaign that has killed at least 23,357 people, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry.
A world away from the death and destruction in Gaza and Israel, robed lawyers battled it out with technical legal arguments in the Peace Palace in The Hague. South Africa argues that Israel is breaking its commitments under the UN Genocide Convention, a treaty signed in 1948 in the wake of the Holocaust.
The top lawyer for South Africa, Adila Hassim, said Israel’s bombing campaign aimed at the “destruction of Palestinian life” and had pushed Palestinians “to the brink of famine.”
“Genocides are never declared in advance, but this court has the benefit of the past 13 weeks of evidence that shows incontrovertibly a pattern of conduct and related intention that justifies a plausible claim of genocidal acts,” she said.
As a fellow signatory to the treaty, South Africa can take Israel to the ICJ, which rules on disputes between countries.
The ruling African National Congress (ANC) has long been a supporter of the Palestinian cause, often linking it to its own struggle against the former white-minority government, which had cooperative relations with Israel.
South Africa has acknowledged the “particular weight of responsibility” of accusing Israel of genocide. It “unequivocally” condemned the Hamas attacks that touched off the war in Gaza.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog has already hinted at his country’s likely defense against what he called an “atrocious and preposterous ... claim.”
“We will present proudly our case of using self-defense ... under international humanitarian law,” he said.
The US is backing its ally Israel, with the US Department of State describing the charges as “unfounded.”
As it is an urgent procedure, the ICJ could rule in a matter of weeks.
Its rulings are final and cannot be appealed. However, countries do not always follow the court’s verdicts — the ICJ has ordered Russia to stop its invasion of Ukraine, for example.
A court ruling against Israel would certainly increase political pressure on the country, with many speculating it could serve as a pretext for sanctions.
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