The UN’s highest court will hear arguments from South Africa and Israel next week, after Pretoria filed a petition against Israel for “genocide” in the Gaza Strip.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) “will hold public hearings at the Peace Palace in The Hague… in the context of the proceedings initiated by South Africa against Israel”, on Thursday January 11 and Friday January 12, indicated the Court in a press release.
South Africa wants the ICJ to urgently order the suspension of military operations in Gaza, considering that Israel “has engaged, is engaged and risks continuing to engage in acts of genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza,” according to the jurisdiction.
“Israel rejects with disgust the defamation […] propagated by South Africa and its recourse to the International Court of Justice,” reacted on X the spokesperson for the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lior Haiat.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that the war waged by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip was “of unrivaled morality.”
South Africa specified in its request that it had turned to the Court to “ensure the urgent and most complete protection possible of the Palestinians”.
A fervent defender of the Palestinian cause, South Africa is one of the most critical countries of the massive and deadly Israeli bombings on Gaza, in retaliation for the bloody attacks in Israel carried out on October 7 by Hamas.
This unprecedented attack on Israeli soil resulted in the deaths of around 1,140 people, the majority civilians.
Around 250 people were also kidnapped that day, including 129 detained in Gaza, according to the Israeli army.
In retaliation, Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas and is shelling Palestinian territory, where at least 21,507 people have been killed, the majority of them women and minors, according to Hamas authorities.
The approximately 2.4 million inhabitants of the Gaza Strip, 85% of whom have had to flee their homes according to the UN, continue to face a disastrous humanitarian situation.
The International Criminal Court (ICC), which also sits in The Hague and which judges individuals, received a request last month from South Africa, Bangladesh, Bolivia, the Comoros and Djibouti to an investigation into the situation in the “State of Palestine”.
The ICC opened investigations in 2021 into possible war crimes carried out in the Palestinian territories by both Israel and Hamas.