Hague: At top UN court, South Africa on Thursday accused Israel of subjecting Palestinians to genocidal acts at the opening of hearings at the top UN court on a case brought against the devastating Israeli military campaign in Gaza.
In the case brought to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), also known as the World Court, South Africa demands an emergency suspension of Israel’s military campaign in the Palestinian enclave.
“South Africa contends that Israel has transgressed Article Two of the (Genocide) convention, committing acts that fall within the definition of genocide. The actions show a systematic pattern of conduct from which genocide can be inferred,” Adila Hassim, advocate of South Africa’s high court, told the ICJ.
South Africa points to Israel’s sustained bombing campaign which has killed over 23,000 people in the small, densely populated Gaza Strip, according to Gaza health authorities.
South Africa’s case in The Hague argues that Israel violated the 1948 genocide convention, established in the aftermath of the Holocaust, which mandates that all countries prevent the recurrence of such crimes. It filed an 84-page document with the court detailing acts it says amount to genocide in Gaza.
Adila Hassim, a lawyer representing South Africa, told the ICJ that Israel had breached Article II of the Genocide Convention, which included the “mass killing” of Palestinians in Gaza.
“Israel deployed 6,000 bombs per week … No one is spared. Not even newborns. UN chiefs have described it as a graveyard for children,” she said.
“Nothing will stop the suffering, except an order from this court,” she added. South Africa has demanded that the ICJ order Israel to suspend its military campaign.
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators hold Palestinian flags as they protest near the International Court of Justice (ICJ
A pro-Palestinian demonstrator holds a placard during a protest near the International Court of Justice [Thilo Schmuelgen/Reuters]
Also called the World Court, the ICJ is the highest UN legal body that can adjudicate issues between member states.
Alanna O’Malley, a professor of UN and international history, told Al Jazeera that South Africa’s case was a “historic” one.
“We see from the invocation of the various articles of the Genocide Convention by the South African legal team the ways in which they are going to structurally present this case,” she said outside the court in The Hague, calling it “extremely compelling”.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said his nation was pursuing the case of what it called “the ongoing slaughter of the people of Gaza”.
