Lerato Mbhiza
THE International Court of Justice (ICJ) has announced it will deliver a judgement on South Africa’s genocide case against Israel on Friday.
“A public sitting will take place at 1 p.m. at the Peace Palace in The Hague, during which Judge Joan E. Donoghue, the President of the Court, will read the Court’s Order,” the ICJ said.
The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) Minister, Naledi Pandor, will lead South Africa’s delegation at The Hague on Friday to hear the judgment on the genocide case against Israel.
The ICJ said it will deliver its judgment tomorrow on whether it will grant emergency measures to stop the war in the Gaza Strip.
This comes after South Africa approached the ICJ in December last year, under the Genocide Convention, for alleged attacks committed by Israel on Palestinians where more than 20 000 people have lost their lives.
The ICJ will deliver its order on the request for the indication of provisional measures submitted by South Africa in the case concerning the application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip, said the ICJ statement.
In the application, South Africa pleaded with the court to indicate provisional measures 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”.
Public hearings on South Africa’s request were held on 11 and 12 January 2024.
“South Africa is requesting that the ICJ grant interim injunctions, including that Israel immediately cease its military operations in Gaza, take reasonable measures to prevent the genocide of Palestinians, ensure that the displaced return to their homes and have access to humanitarian assistance,” DIRCO said.
According to the department, humanitarian assistance includes adequate food, water, fuel, medical and hygiene supplies, shelter and clothing.
“South Africa is requesting that the ICJ grant interim injunctions, including that Israel immediately cease its military operations in Gaza, take reasonable measures to prevent the genocide of Palestinians, ensure that the displaced return to their homes and have access to humanitarian assistance,” the department previously said.
Israel has dismissed the genocide allegations, and argued that South Africa presented a “profoundly distorted factual and legal picture” of claims of genocide being committed against Palestinians in Gaza and weaponised the term genocide.
Speaking during a speech to the UN Security Council high-level debate about Israel’s war on Gaza, Masotsha Mnguni, Political Counselor at the South African Mission, said that for international law to be credible, it should be uniformly applied and not selective.
“South Africa welcomes expressions of support for the case before the ICJ and encourages states to intervene if they wish at a later stage in the proceedings,” Mnguni said.
Meanwhile, the 15 judges at the ICJ are expected to be joined in this case by a judge specially appointed by SA and one by Israel, both being distinguished figures in their countries with extraordinary personal history, namely former deputy chief justice Dikgang Moseneke and former Israeli Supreme Court president Aharon Barak.
The current death toll stands at over 25 000, while another 62 681 have been wounded, most of them women and children, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
Whilst the judgement of the court is expected by many to hold significant moral and diplomatic weight, it remains to be seen whether it would be enforceable in real terms.
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