NEW YORK(Palestine Foundation Information Center)South Africa has filed a lawsuit against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), accusing it of committing genocidal crimes against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip after nearly three months of brutal Israeli bombardment and atrocities have claimed the lives of more than 21,500 people and caused widespread destruction.
In its application to ICJ on Friday, South Africa described Israel’s actions in Gaza as “genocidal in character because they are intended to bring about the destruction of a substantial part of the Palestinian national, racial and ethnical group.”
“The acts in question include killing Palestinians in Gaza, causing them serious bodily and mental harm, and inflicting on them conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction,” the application said.
The ICJ, also called the World Court, is a UN civil court that adjudicates disputes between countries. It is different from the International Criminal Court (ICC), which prosecutes individuals for war crimes.
South Africa said Israel’s conduct, particularly since the war began on October 7, violates the UN’s Genocide Convention, and called for an expedited hearing.
Its application also requests the court to indicate provisional measures to “protect against further, severe and irreparable harm to the rights of the Palestinian people,” under the Convention.
“South Africa is gravely concerned with the plight of civilians caught in the present Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip due to the indiscriminate use of force and forcible removal of inhabitants,” a statement from South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) said.
“South Africa has continuously called for an immediate and permanent ceasefire and the resumption of talks that will end the violence arising from the continued belligerent occupation of Palestine,” DIRCO added.
