South Africa has asked the International Court of Justice to investigate Israel for what it called "genocidal" acts in Gaza. The Israeli government rejected the case as "baseless".
South Africa asked the UN court, which judges disputes between states, to examine whether Israel had violated the 1948 Genocide Convention in its latest conflict with the Palestinian group Hamas in Gaza.
In an application filed on Friday, South Africa alleged that "Israel has engaged in, is engaging in and risks further engaging in genocidal acts against the Palestinian people in Gaza".
It also claimed that Israel was acting with the specific intent "to destroy Palestinians in Gaza as part of the broader Palestinian national, racial and ethnical group".
Israel's foreign ministry called on the court to dismiss the claims, which it said had no basis in fact or law.
"Israel rejects with disgust the blood libel spread by South Africa in its application to the International Court of Justice," spokesperson Lior Haiat wrote on social media, insisting that its military offensive in the Gaza Strip was directed only against Hamas and its supporters.
Israel rejects with disgust the blood libel spread by South Africa in its application to the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
— Lior Haiat 🇮🇱 (@LiorHaiat) December 29, 2023
South Africa's claim lacks both a factual and a legal basis, and constitutes a despicable and contemptuous exploitation of the Court.
South Africa… pic.twitter.com/dqyhY8WYE0
Echoes of Apartheid
South Africa has long been a vocal supporter of the Palestinian cause, likening the plight of Palestinians in occupied territories to the struggles of its own black majority during Apartheid – a comparison that Israel vehemently rejects.
The South African government has been fiercely critical of the war in Gaza, triggered by deadly Hamas attacks on Israel on 7 October. South African authorities have said that Israel's military response constitutes war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Its parliament last month voted in favour of closing down the Israeli embassy in Pretoria and suspending diplomatic relations.
All South African diplomats have left Israeli, while Israel in turn has recalled its ambassador in South Africa.
And in November, South Africa was one of five countries – alongside Bangladesh, Bolivia, Comoros and Djibouti – to call on the International Criminal Court to investigate alleged atrocities in Gaza and the West Bank.
No date for hearing
In its application to the ICJ, South Africa asked the court to urgently order Israel to stop its military campaign in Gaza and prevent "further, severe and irreparable harm to the rights of the Palestinian people".
No date has been set for a hearing on the case.
Fully resolving cases can take many years, though the court can order emergency measures in the meantime.
Decisions by the ICJ are final – but it has no means of enforcing them, and its rulings are sometimes ignored.
(with newswires)
