South Africa drags Israel to World Court, files genocide case against TelAviv
In response to the raging war in Gaza, the South African government has instituted a genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice over its mass killings of civilians in the besieged enclave.
South Africa has been a staunch supporter of the Palestinian struggle and has been relentless in pushing for a two-state solution.
The Cyril Ramaphosa-led government is demanding an urgent order declaring that Israel was in breach of its obligations under the 1948 Genocide Convention in its raging war against the Palestinian group Hamas in Gaza.
South Africa said Israel was breaching its commitments under the treaty, which was adopted in the aftermath of the Holocaust and makes it a crime to attempt to eliminate a people in whole or in part.
It requested that the court issue temporary, or short-term, measures ordering Israel to cease its military operation in Gaza, which it described as “necessary in this case to protect against further, severe, and irreparable harm to the rights of the Palestinian people.”
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it welcomed the move by South Africa.
While responding to South Africa’s move, Israel’s foreign ministry said the suit was “baseless.”
No date has been set for a hearing by the World Court, which is the United Nations avenue set aside for resolving disputes between countries.
The war in Gaza started on October 7 when Hamas fighters killed 1,200 people in a cross-border attack on Israel and seized 240 hostages by Israel’s count. Israel responded with an assault on Hamas-ruled Gaza, killing more than 21,000 people, mostly women and innocent children.
