
This article is cross-posted from The Sputnik
On Dec. 29, 2023, South Africa filed a case against Israel and brought forth genocide allegations to the International Court of Justice at the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands. By Jan. 26, the ruling was decided.ย
After weeks of statements, documents and other evidence presented to the court, the 17 judges behind the bench, all elected by United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council, have officially ordered Israel to prevent acts of genocide in Gaza, keep track of evidence and submit a report on the steps itโs taken towards this in one month. The court did not order a ceasefire.
The court rejected Israelโs request to throw out the case and stated โat least some of the acts and omissions alleged by South Africa to have been committed by Israel in Gaza appear to be capable of falling within the provisions of the Convention.โ
Adila Hassim, a South African human rights lawyer, presented South Africaโs opening statement to the court on Jan. 11. Tembeka Ngcukaitobi, another South African lawyer and legal scholar, followed the statement with a speech. He outlined South Africaโs key arguments to support their genocide allegation against Israel.
He said โIsraelโs political leaders, military commanders and persons holding official positionsโ both systematically and explicitly declared genocidal intent, which was repeated by soldiers on the ground as they carried out the โdestruction of Palestinians and the physical infrastructure of Gaza.โ
Ngcukaitobi then quoted what Israelโs Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said two days after the Hamas attack in October.
โAs Israel was imposing a complete siege on Gaza, there would be no electricity, no food, no water, no fuel. Everything would be closed because Israel is fighting โhuman animals,โโ said Ngcukaitobi. He added that Gallant told troops he released all โrestraintsโ and โGaza wonโt return to what it was before.โ
Irish lawyer Blinne Nรญ Ghrรกlaigh represented South Africa and delivered a speech to the court that laid out several statistics on the current situation in Gaza. She said each day, over 10 Palestinian children will have one or both legs amputated, many without anesthetic, and an average of 3,900 Palestinian homes will be damaged or destroyed. Blinne also said, on average, 247 Palestinians are being killed and are at risk of being killed each day, of which 48 are mothers and 117 are children.
Tal Becker is an Australian-Israeli and the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairsโ legal adviser with an expertise in international law. He delivered the opening statement on behalf of Israelโs defense on Jan. 12.
โThe civilians suffering in this war, like in all wars, is tragic. It is heartbreaking,โ he told the court. โThe harsh realities of the current hostilities are made especially agonizing for civilians given Hamasโ reprehensible strategy of seeking to maximize civilian harm to both Israelis and Palestinians, even as Israel seeks to minimize it.โ
Maryka Van Wyngaarden, a fifth-year digital media and journalism student, said she doesnโt agree with Israelโs arguments.
โTheyโre basically saying, โCivilian deaths are going to happen, and itโs all Hamasโ fault. Itโs Hamasโ fault that weโre bombing refugee camps,โโ she said. โI canโt wrap my head around that. Itโs like every argument they have is, โWell, these civilian deaths are justified because โ Hamasโโฆ I donโt think you can justify that.โ
Countries in support of South Africaโs case include the 57-member Organization of Islamic Countries, Malaysia, Turkey, Jordan, Bolivia, The Maldives, Namibia, Pakistan, the 22-member Arab League, Colombia, Brazil, Belgium, Slovenia and Spain. Countries in support of Israelโs defense are the U.S., Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary and the U.K.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the country believes in and respects the ICJโs processes, but this โdoes not mean that we accept the premise of the case brought forward by South Africa.โ
It has been 117 days since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack that killed around 1,200 people in Israel and the stateโs ruthless carpet-bombing over Palestine, viciously killing an ever-increasing death toll of at least 26,751 civilians in Gaza.
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