International Court of Justice: South Africa institutes proceeding against Israel claiming a violation of the Genocide Convention in Gaza

South Africa presented its case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the highest judicial organ of the United Nations, to end the mass killing of civilians in Gaza, accusing Israel of genocide against Palestinians. On December 29, 2023, South Africa instituted the proceedings against Israel, and on January 11, 2024, the first public hearing was held.

The accusations were made in the context of the ongoing Israeli bombardment following the Hamas-led terror attacks on October 7. The South African legal team presented evidence arguing that Israel had demonstrated a "pattern of genocidal conduct". In fact, there is evidence that Israel's unlawful action led to the death, starvation, suffering and displacement of the people of Gaza. Adila Hassim, representing South Africa, claimed that Israel subjected the 2.3 million people in Gaza to unprecedented attacks by air, land, and sea, resulting in thousands of civilian deaths and widespread destruction of homes and infrastructure.

Furthermore, Israel is preventing the necessary humanitarian aid from reaching Gaza. Besides the starvation and risk of death, the people of Gaza were relentlessly bombed, with mass graves being created for unidentified casualties.

Because of these acts and evidence, the South African legal team argued that Israel's actions violated the Genocide Convention, a UN international treaty “dedicated to saving humanity,” which prohibits states from committing genocidal acts but also requires them to prevent genocide from taking place.

However, Israel strongly denied these allegations, calling them "baseless."

The current UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, underlined that these are "gross violations" of international humanitarian law. Türk condemned the cruelty of the attack launched from Gaza by Hamas and other armed groups while expressing regret for the lack of accountability for some Israeli soldiers and armed settlers responsible for the death of thousands of innocent Palestinians. He emphasized the need to address alleged violations of international humanitarian and human rights law for both parties.

The hearing at the ICJ continues, with Israel yet to present its case.

To know more about the hearing, visit: https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/01/1145402

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