South Africa files genocide case against Israel at ICJ

In its application, South Africa accuses Israel of being “in violation of its obligations under the Genocide Convention” and that “acts and omissions by Israel … are genocidal in character, as they are committed with the requisite specific intent … to destroy Palestinians in Gaza as a part of the broader Palestinian national, racial and ethnical group”, the ICJ said in a statement.

Israel, through its Ministry of Foreign Affairs, rejected South Africa’s claims and application to the World Court, saying South Africa “is calling for the destruction of the State of Israel”, and that its “claim lacks both a factual and a legal basis.”

The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed South Africa’s move to begin proceedings over the genocide allegations.

“The Court must immediately take action to protect the Palestinian people and call on Israel, the occupying Power, to halt its onslaught against the Palestinian people, in order to ensure an objective legal resolution,” the Palestinian foreign ministry said in a statement Friday.

“The existence of the Palestinian people is under unprecedented threat as we are facing a moral and legal catastrophe of enormous proportions undermining our shared humanity and the essence of the multilateral order,” the statement read.

South Africa and Israel are both parties to the Genocide Convention, according to the ICJ, which is also known as the World Court and is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations.

The role of the International Court of Justice is to handle disputes between member states, whereas the International Criminal Court tries individuals.

Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza followed Hamas’ shocking Oct. 7 cross-border attack in which an estimated 1,200 people were killed and hundreds more taken back to the coastal enclave as hostages.

Nearly 21,500 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, and almost 56,000 others have been injured, according to local health authorities.