Johnathan Paoli
South Africa has filed an expedited motion to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), regarding the latest Israeli ground invasion of the southern town of Rafah, Gaza.
Spokesperson to the Presidency Vincent Magwenya, said on Tuesday that the SA government has asked the UN court whether Israel’s decision to extend its military operations in Rafah required the court to use its power to prevent further breach of Palestinians’ rights.
Under Article 75(1) of the Rules of Court, “The Court may at any time decide to examine proprio motu whether the circumstances of the case require the indication of provisional measures which ought to be taken or complied with by any or all of the parties.”
Magwenya said in making a request submitted to the court on Monday, the SA government held that it was gravely concerned that the unprecedented military offensive against Rafah, as announced by the State of Israel, has already led to and will result in further large scale killing, harm and destruction, ultimately culminating in a serious and irreparable breach both of the Genocide Convention and of the Court’s Order of 26 January this year.
“South Africa trusts this matter will receive the necessary urgency in light of the daily death toll in Gaza,” Magwenya said.
This is South Africa’s second motion to the ICJ to try and put an end to the genocide taking place in Gaza and other places where Palestinians have found refuge. The latest motion follows public hearings at the Peace Palace in the Hague, which took place on the 11 and 12 of January, with South Africa arguing that Israel violated its obligations under the Genocide Convention in its application to the ICJ.
DIRCO’s Director-General Zane Dangor previously said that just weeks after the ICJ ordered Israel to take measures to prevent acts of genocide in Gaza, Tel Aviv continues to defy the ruling, which also requires it to allow humanitarian aid into the blockaded territory.
“This is exactly why we went to the ICJ to stop the killing. We saw this as an unfolding genocide and we thought we needed to use these institutions to prevent further killing. The safe areas that Palestinians are going to go to is the next area for mass destruction,” Dangor warned.
At least 28,176 people have been killed, and 67,784 injured in Gaza since the war began, with up to 85% of the 2.3 million people in the area, having already been displaced from their homes and now being crammed into an ever smaller area near the border, a displacement which has added to the humanitarian crisis in the region.
Israel’s reaction to the recent court action by SA, remains unconfirmed.
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