South Africa on Thursday accused Israel of violating the UN Genocide Convention at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), saying not even the October 7 Hamas attack could justify such alleged violations in Gaza.
Pretoria urgently seized the Court in The Hague to order Israel to “immediately suspend its military operations” in the Gaza Strip, a historic legal confrontation described as “absurd” and “atrocious” by Israel.
“No armed attack on the territory of a State, however serious it may be […] cannot justify a violation of the Convention,” said the South African Minister of Justice, Ronald Lamola, before the Court, the highest jurisdiction of the UN.
“Israel’s response to the October 7 attack crossed this line and gave rise to violations of the Convention,” he argued before the fifteen ICJ magistrates present at the hearing, broadcast publicly by video link.
The war between Israel and Hamas was triggered by an unprecedented attack on October 7 by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas on Israeli soil which left around 1,140 dead, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on the Israeli toll.
In retaliation, Israel vowed to “annihilate” Hamas in power in Gaza and launched an offensive in this Palestinian territory which left at least 23,357 dead, mostly women, adolescents and children, according to figures released on Wednesday. by the Hamas Ministry of Health.
According to Pretoria, Israel is breaking its commitments made under the United Nations Convention on Genocide, signed in 1948 following the Holocaust.
Israel’s bombing campaign aims at “the destruction of Palestinian lives” and pushes Palestinians “to the brink of starvation”, said South Africa’s lawyer Adila Hassim.
“Genocides are never declared in advance, but this court has the benefit of the last 13 weeks of evidence that indisputably shows a pattern of behavior and intent that justifies a plausible allegation of genocidal acts,” he said. she declared.
As a co-signatory to the treaty, Pretoria can sue Israel before the International Court of Justice, which rules on disputes between states.
The African National Congress (ANC), in power in South Africa, has long supported the Palestinian cause. Former South African president and hero of the anti-apartheid struggle Nelson Mandela said that South Africa’s freedom would be “incomplete” without that of the Palestinians.
Pretoria also indicated that it was “fully aware” of the “particular weight of responsibility” represented by accusing Israel of violating the Genocide Convention and condemned “unequivocally” the Hamas attack of October 7.
“Atrocious and absurd”
Israel will speak before the ICJ on Friday, but its president has already declared that there was “nothing more atrocious and absurd” than Pretoria’s accusations.
“We will be before the International Court of Justice and we will proudly present our case of self-defense […] under international humanitarian law,” added Isaac Herzog.
According to him, the Israeli army is “doing everything possible, under extremely complicated circumstances on the ground, to ensure that there will be no unintended consequences or civilian casualties.”
The United States supports its ally Israel and believes that the accusations made by Pretoria are “unfounded”.
“In fact, it is those who violently attack Israel who continue to openly call for the annihilation of Israel and the massacre of Jews,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.
As this is an emergency procedure, the ICJ could rule in a few weeks. Its decisions are final and legally binding, but it has no power to enforce them.
In March 2022, the ICJ ordered Russia to “immediately suspend” its invasion of Ukraine, an injunction completely ignored by Moscow.
A court ruling against Israel, however, would increase political pressure on the country, and could potentially serve as a pretext for sanctions. It can take years to fully resolve the case before the ICJ.