The Bolivian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced its support for the lawsuit filed by South Africa at the International Court of Justice against Israel for genocide crimes in the Gaza Strip. According to Russia Today, the Bolivian Foreign Ministry praised South Africa’s move under its commitment to the Genocide Convention, considering it a historic step in defending the rights of the Palestinian people and their cause. The Ministry emphasized the need for international community support for this initiative.
Bolivia, in partnership with South Africa, Bangladesh, Comoros, and Djibouti, filed a lawsuit on November 17 with the International Criminal Court to investigate the situation in the Palestinian territories. Bolivia is the first Latin American country to declare its support for South Africa’s lawsuit.
The International Court of Justice previously announced that South Africa had submitted a request to initiate proceedings against Israel for “acts of genocide against the Palestinian people” in the Gaza Strip. The Court’s statement highlighted South Africa’s assertion that Israel’s actions and failures carry the character of genocide, as they are accompanied by the specific intent required to eliminate the Palestinians of Gaza as part of the broader national and ethnic group.
Later, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that Israel had appointed a British lawyer to represent it at the International Court of Justice in South Africa’s accusation of Tel Aviv committing genocide crimes in the Gaza Strip.
The situation in Gaza, particularly following the recent conflict, has been the subject of intense scrutiny and concern from international human rights organizations and bodies. Amnesty International has documented what it describes as unlawful Israeli attacks in Gaza, including indiscriminate attacks resulting in mass civilian casualties, which could be investigated as war crimes. In one incident, an Israeli air strike killed 12 members of the Hijazi family and four neighbors in Gaza City, with no evidence of military targets in the area at the time of the attack.
The United Nations’ Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) also reported on war crimes that may have been committed by all sides since the outbreak of violence on October 7, 2023. The OHCHR expressed grave concern about Israel’s latest attacks on Gaza and the complete siege involving the withholding of water, food, electricity, and fuel, which constitutes collective punishment and could cost civilian lives.
Moreover, UN experts have called on the international community to prevent what they describe as a potential genocide against the Palestinian people. They noted that half of the civilian infrastructure in Gaza has been destroyed, including housing units, hospitals, schools, mosques, bakeries, water, sewage, and electricity networks. This destruction, they argue, threatens to make Palestinian life in Gaza impossible.
