THE HAGUE, Netherlands (CN) — Lawyers for South Africa at the United Nations’ highest court said Thursday that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, and asked judges to issue emergency measures to protect the Palestinian people.
South Africa wants the International Court of Justice to order Israel to stop military operations and allow humanitarian aid into Gaza as part of a complaint filed in December 2023 claiming the country is violating the 1948 Genocide Convention.
"[Palestinains] are killed in their homes, in places where they seek shelter, in hospitals, in schools, in mosques, in churches,” South African lawyer Adila Hassim told the 17-judge panel.
South Africa argues Israel’s military response in the Gaza Strip to the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas goes beyond self-defense and violates the treaty, which was created in large part as a response to the Holocaust.
"Genocide is never a permitted response," lawyer Vaughan Lowe said. He said that the scale of the bombardment of Gaza and restrictions on humanitarian aid show the government of Israel is intent on destroying the Palestinian people.
Seven pages of the 84-page filing are dedicated to various Israeli officials' comments, which South Africa’s lawyers say demonstrate genocidal intent. Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallan's statement that the military was “fighting human animals” was one of several presented to the court by lawyer Tembeka Ngcukaitobi.
Ngcukaitobi also showed videos of Israeli soldiers chanting that there are no “uninvolved civilians” in Gaza, and of cheering in reaction to soldiers bombing homes.
South Africa was also critical of the international community more broadly.
"Decadeslong impunity for widespread human rights violations has emboldened Israel," Vusimuzi Madonsela, the country’s ambassador to the Netherlands, said in his opening remarks.
This week’s hearings are focused on the nine provisional measures which South Africa has requested. The threshold for issuing emergency orders is relatively low; judges have to be convinced only that it's plausible that rights protected by the convention could be violated.
Any party to the post-WWII treaty can initiate a case at 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. Those proceedings are still ongoing.
Israel has strongly condemned the suit and will have an opportunity to respond on Friday.
“South Africa seeks to allow Hamas to go back and commit the war crimes, crimes against humanity and sexual crimes they committed on Oct. 7, 2023,” Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Lior Haiat said in a statement on social media after the hearing.
Hamas fighters launched a cross-border attack in October 2023, killing more than 1,000 people and kidnapping 200 others. Negotiations for the return of the hostages are ongoing. The ensuing military response has killed more than 23,000 people and displaced nearly two million others, according to evidence presented during the hearing.
The court is likely to make a decision in the coming weeks.
Follow @mollyquell
Subscribe to Closing Arguments
Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.
Additional Reads
-
-
Arizona House votes to regulate deepfakes May 15, 2024