THE HAGUE, Netherlands (CN) — South Africa launched proceedings Friday at the United Nations’ highest court, accusing Israel of committing genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza.
According to the complaint filed at the International Court of Justice, Israel’s military response in the Gaza Strip to the Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas has gone beyond self-defense and violates the 1948 Genocide Convention.
“Acts and omissions by Israel . . . are genocidal in character, as they are committed with the requisite specific intent . . . to destroy Palestinians in Gaza as a part of the broader Palestinian national, racial and ethnical group,” South Africa says in its complaint.
The move comes as tens of thousands of Palestinians have fled to overcrowded refugee centers in the southern part of Gaza to avoid Israel's bombardments.
“South Africa is gravely concerned with the plight of civilians caught in the present Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip due to the indiscriminate use of force and forcible removal of inhabitants,” South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa said in a statement.
His country has been a frequent critic of Israel's conduct in Gaza. Lawmakers in Johannesburg voted last month to cut off diplomatic ties with Israel until it agrees to a cease-fire.
Any party to the post-WWII treaty can initiate a case at The Hague-based court against another signatory under the convention. The West African country of Gambia launched a complaint against Myanmar in 2020, claiming the government was committing genocide against the Rohingya.
South Africa's complaint asks the court to issue provisional measures — essentially an injunction — including a cessation of the killing of Palestinian people in Gaza and to allow humanitarian aid in the area.
Israel rejected South Africa’s accusations, calling them “blood libel.” In a statement on social media, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Lior Haiat said that “Israel is committed to international law and acts in accordance with it, and directs its military efforts solely against the Hamas terrorist organization and the other terrorist organizations cooperating with Hamas.”
In November, South Africa also filed a referral to the International Criminal Court claiming Israel was committing war crimes in Gaza. The court has already opened an investigation into the Palestinian territories.
In 2015, Palestine signed onto the Rome Statute, the treaty that created the court in 2002, and asked the prosecutor to open an investigation into Israeli military action during the 2014 Gaza War and into settlement construction in both the West Bank and annexed East Jerusalem.
Judges at the world’s only permanent court for atrocity crimes ruled in 2021 that they have jurisdiction in the Palestinian territories, including areas occupied by Israel in the 1967 Mideast War.
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