South Africa’s claims of Israeli genocide in Gaza to be heard at the ICJ on January 11-12 as casualties, displacements and suffering of Palestinian civilians ensue
On January 11 and 12, 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) will host hearings to evaluate South Africa’s claim that Israel has committed crimes constituting genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza. South Africa had initially filed an 84-page lawsuit to the court on December 29, arguing that Israel has breached international laws, especially the provisions of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (the “Genocide Convention”) in the region since the attacks of October 7. Foregoing their long-held policy of boycotting the UN’s top court, Israeli officials and legal representatives will be present at the Hague to defend their country.
In its announcement on January 3, 2024, the ICJ explained that the hearings will focus on the provision measures requested by South Africa, which sought to “protect against further, severe and irreparable harm to the rights of the Palestinian people under the Genocide Convention” and “to ensure Israel’s compliance with its obligations under the Genocide Convention not to engage in genocide, and to prevent and to punish genocide”. South Africa has specifically accused Israel of violating the 1984 Genocide Convention, which defines genocide as “acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group”. The lawsuit highlights Israel’s large-scale killing of Palestinian civilians, its targeting of schools, hospitals, and places of worship, as well as its restricting of access to humanitarian resources. It also emphasizes the apparent genocidal intent expressed by top Israeli officials, including the President, Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, toward the Palestinian people.
The proceedings reflect the international community’s growing concerns over the atrocities unfolding in Gaza. The ICJ typically takes one to two weeks to issue a decision on emergency measures such as this, though it is unclear for how long this particular case will be adjudicated. While any ruling from the Hague will be unenforceable, a verdict against Israel would prove a significant development in this situation, dealing severe reputational damage to the country and potentially compelling it to alter its military strategy in the face of such international condemnation. Any abatement of the attacks in Gaza that comes of this would be much needed.
For the past 90 days, the world has witnessed an unrelenting wave of violence in Israel’s continuous attacks on the people of Gaza. As of January 5, 2024, the toll on Palestinian civilians is nothing short of a humanitarian crisis. The cumulative loss of life, factoring in individuals who are unaccounted for or trapped beneath the rubble, is estimated to exceed 30,000, encompassing a toll of 11,833 innocent children. The official numbers released by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) report 22,438 Palestinians killed, 57,614 injured, and a staggering 1.9 million displaced, representing 85% of Gaza's entire population.
The heart-wrenching reality extends to entire families, with 1,876 Palestinian families experiencing multiple deaths of their immediate and extended family members; the night of 4 January, 2024, marked another chapter as fourteen members of the Salah family were killed in an Israeli airstrike, underscoring the indiscriminate nature of the attacks.
Beyond the immediate loss of life, the crisis has plunged 2.2 million Palestinians into the abyss of imminent famine. Alarmingly, 2.08 million face high levels of acute food insecurity, while 939,000 are teetering on the brink of emergency food insecurity. Over 378,000 are grappling with catastrophic levels of food scarcity, signaling an extreme lack of food, widespread starvation, and the exhaustion of coping capacities.
Geneva International Centre for Justice (GICJ) supports South Africa’s efforts toward accountability through its application to the ICJ. Pursuing mechanisms of international redress is essential to recognizing the suffering of the Palestinian people in their search for justice. In addition to pursuing legal channels such as this, GICJ urges the international community to address Israel’s escalating and continuous attacks on the people of Palestine, advocating for a ceasefire and diplomatic resolution to prevent further loss of life and alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people. The sobering statistics put forth a distressing perspective, underscoring the imperative for prompt attention to alleviate the escalating humanitarian crisis in the region.
