{"id":7735,"date":"2024-01-12T11:44:53","date_gmt":"2024-01-12T11:44:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ameforum.net\/?p=7735"},"modified":"2024-01-12T11:46:26","modified_gmt":"2024-01-12T11:46:26","slug":"gazans-future-depends-on-decision-of-international-court-of-justice-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ameforum.net\/en\/gazans-future-depends-on-decision-of-international-court-of-justice-south-africa\/","title":{"rendered":"Gazans\u2019 future depends on decision of International Court of Justice: South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

South Africa, on Thursday, demanded the International Court of Justice (ICJ) impose provisional measures on Israel to halt its assault on Gaza, while asking Israel to take measures to \u201cprevent genocide\u201d, Anadolu Agency reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At a hearing of its genocide case against Israel in The Hague, the South African delegation said: \u201cThe future of the Palestinians who are still in Gaza depends on the decision this Court will make on this matter.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The delegation underlined that the mass killing of Palestinians in Gaza formed a \u201ccalculated pattern of conduct by Israel indicating a genocidal intent.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adila Hassim, one of the delegation\u2019s lawyers, underscored at the hearing that the genocide case \u201cunderscores the very essence of our shared humanity as expressed in the preamble to the Genocide Convention.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stressing that genocides are \u201cnever declared in advance\u201d, Hassim said: \u201cBut this Court has the benefit of the past 13 weeks of evidence that shows incontrovertibly, a pattern of conduct and related intention that justifies a plausible claim of genocidal acts.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The delegation also demanded the ICJ not hesitate to impose provisional measures, as it \u201cdid not hesitate\u201d in the case of the genocide against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar, asserting that the situation in Gaza also deserves court intervention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere is an urgent need for provisional measures to prevent imminent irreparable prejudice\u201d in this case, South Africa said, underlining that \u201cthere could not be a clearer or more compelling case\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 World \u2018should be ashamed\u2019<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The delegation urged the ICJ that \u201cthere must be an end to the decimation of Gaza and its people\u201d, as the international community \u201ccontinues to fail\u201d to take action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe international community continues to fail the Palestinian people, despite the overt, dehumanising genocidal rhetoric by Israeli government and military officials, matched by the Israeli army actions on the ground,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDespite the horror of the genocide against the Palestinian people, being live streamed from Gaza to our mobile phones, computers and television screens, the first genocide in history where its victims are broadcasting their own destruction in real time in the desperate, so far vain, hope \u201cthat the world might do something,\u201d the delegation further said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"South<\/p>\n\n\n\n

South Africa seeks justice for Gaza \u2013 Cartoon [Sabaaneh\/Middle East Monitor]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe world should be absolutely horrified. The world should be absolutely outraged,\u201d it said and added: \u201cThere is no safe space in Gaza and the world should be ashamed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

South Africa also emphasised that the cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on 7 October \u201ccannot justify Israel\u2019s genocidal acts\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo matter what some individuals within the group of Palestinians in Gaza may have done, no matter how great the threat to Israeli citizens might be, genocidal attacks on the whole of Gaza population cannot be justified,\u201d it told the ICJ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It added: \u201cNo exception can be made in a provisional measures order to allow a State to engage in actions that are capable of violating its obligations under the Genocide Convention. It is unthinkable that the Court would ever do such a thing. That is the simple point in this case.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGenocide can never be justified in any circumstances,\u201d it stressed, noting that South Africa already condemned the 7 October attacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Israel\u2019s military operations \u2018should be suspended immediately\u2019<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The South African delegation called on Israel to \u201cimmediately suspend\u201d its military operations in and against Gaza.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The delegation stressed the immediate suspension of Israel\u2019s operations is \u201cthe only way to secure humanitarian response and avoid getting more unnecessary death and destruction.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It also urged the Israeli government to take \u201call reasonable measures within their power to prevent genocide\u201d, while ensuring no \u201cfurtherance of military operations\u201d by the forces under its control or influence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Israel should take measures, including rescinding of relevant orders of restrictions, forced prohibitions to prevent expulsion, displacement of Gazans, it requested.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The delegation also demanded from Israel to allow access to humanitarian assistance in Gaza, including adequate shelter, clothes, hygiene, sanitation and medical supplies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Furthermore, South Africa asked Israel to take \u201ceffective measures\u201d to ensure preservation of evidence related to allegations of genocidal acts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Public hearings commence<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Public hearings in the genocide case against Israel began on Thursday at ICJ in The Hague.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the first day of the trial, South Africa presented hard evidence in the case it filed on 29 December, accusing Israel of genocide and violation of the UN Genocide Convention with its actions in the Gaza Strip since 7 October.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The South African side is requesting an injunction by the top UN Court to halt Israel\u2019s military assault on Gaza, which has dragged on for more than three months, with the death toll rising to over 23,300.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 84-page filing by South Africa accuses Israel of acts and omissions \u201cgenocidal in character, as they are committed with the requisite specific intent \u2026 to destroy Palestinians in Gaza as a part of the broader Palestinian national, racial and ethnic group.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It said Israel\u2019s genocidal acts include the killing of Palestinians, causing them serious bodily and mental harm, mass expulsion from homes and displacement, imposing measures intended to prevent Palestinian births, and deprivation of access to adequate food, water, shelter, sanitation and medical assistance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The South African delegation is being led by Justice Minister, Ronald Lamola, and will be joined by senior political figures from progressive political parties and movements across the globe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thursday\u2019s hearing will be followed by Israel\u2019s arguments in its defence the next day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Source: MEMO)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

South Africa, on Thursday, demanded the International Court of Justice (ICJ) impose provisional measures on Israel to halt its assault on Gaza, while asking Israel to take measures to \u201cprevent genocide\u201d, Anadolu Agency reports. At a hearing of its genocide case against Israel in The Hague, the South African delegation said: \u201cThe future of the …<\/p>","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":7736,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[172,184,307],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7735","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-172","category-international-issues","category-main-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ameforum.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7735","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ameforum.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ameforum.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ameforum.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ameforum.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7735"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ameforum.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7735\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7740,"href":"https:\/\/ameforum.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7735\/revisions\/7740"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ameforum.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7736"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ameforum.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7735"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ameforum.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7735"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ameforum.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7735"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}