South Africa called on the International Court of Justice to issue an urgent order declaring that Israel is violating its obligations under the 1948 Genocide Convention due to its ongoing campaign against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry responded, stating that the case “has no basis.” South Africa’s claim accuses Israel of violating its commitments under the Convention, which was formulated following the Holocaust, and criminalizes attempts to wholly or partially destroy any people.
South Africa requested the Court, on Friday, to issue interim or short-term measures ordering Israel to stop its military campaign in Gaza, stating that these measures are “necessary in this case to protect against any further severe and irreparable harm to the rights of the Palestinian people.”
No date has been set for a hearing. Although the International Court of Justice in The Hague is the United Nations’ highest court, its judgments are sometimes not enforced. For example, in March 2022, the Court ordered Russia to immediately stop its invasion of Ukraine.
In its first response to South Africa’s lawsuit, the Israeli Foreign Ministry blamed Hamas for the suffering of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, accusing it of using them as human shields and stealing humanitarian aid from them, allegations denied by Hamas. The ministry said in a statement: “Israel has made it clear that the residents of the Gaza Strip are not the enemy and that it is making every effort to minimize damage to non-combatants and to allow the entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip.”
The Palestinians welcomed the lawsuit filed by South Africa. The Palestinian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it urges “the International Court of Justice to respond quickly to the request of our friends in South Africa for interim measures urgently to prevent the commission of the crime of genocide, by issuing a decision to stop the aggression, cease fire, and request the states complicit in committing the crime against our people to stop doing so, and to call on all states for an immediate ceasefire.”
This request to the Court is the latest step by South Africa, which has been sharply critical of the Israeli war, to intensify pressure after its lawmakers voted last month in favor of closing the Israeli embassy in Pretoria and suspending all diplomatic relations until an agreement on a ceasefire is reached. The government said in a statement issued by the Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation that it submitted the request against Israel on Friday.
The statement added, “Since October 7, 2023, in particular, Israel has failed to prevent genocide and prosecute in relation to direct and public incitement to genocide.”
