Israel rejected these accusations, as did its most important ally, the United States.
The ICJ case increases international pressure on Israel to reduce or end its war against Hamas, which Gaza health officials say has killed more than 23,000 people – many of them women and children – and made much of the Strip uninhabitable and displaced residents. The brink of starvation.
Israel launched the campaign after Hamas militants invaded Israeli communities on October 7, killing about 1,200 people and taking more than 200 hostage.
After hearings on Thursday and Friday, the justices are expected to rule within weeks on the interventions requested by South Africa to change Israel's behavior in the war. A ruling on the issue of genocide could take years.
What is the International Court of Justice and what are its powers?
The International Court of Justice, established after World War II to settle disputes between states, is the main judicial body of the United Nations.
The United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council elect the Court's 15 judges for a nine-year term. Its chair is Joan Donoghue, former legal adviser to the Foreign Office.
The 1948 convention, ratified after the Holocaust, made genocide a crime under international law and gave the International Court of Justice the power to determine whether states had committed it.
Court rulings are legally binding, but can be difficult to enforce and can be ignored. Russia, for example, rejected a 2022 order to halt its war against Ukraine.
The International Court of Justice differs from the International Criminal Court, which is a newer body that tries individuals accused of violating international laws including war crimes and genocide. Neither Israel nor the United States recognizes the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court.
What is the case of genocide committed by South Africa against Israel?
In an 84-page dossier, South Africa accuses Israel of intending to “destroy the Palestinians in Gaza as part of the broader Palestinian national, racial and ethnic group.”
The state says: “Israel has, and continues to reduce, the Gaza Strip into rubble, kills, harms and destroys its people, and creates living conditions calculated to achieve their physical destruction as a group.”
South Africa refers to the widespread killing and mutilation carried out by Israel against civilians. his use of “dumb” bombs; Mass displacement and destruction of neighborhoods; “Depriving civilians of access to adequate food and water,” medical care, shelter, clothing, hygiene, and sanitation; Its obliteration of Palestinian civil institutions; And its failure to provide any safe place for the residents of Gaza.
South Africa also accuses Israel of preventing Palestinian births by displacing pregnant women, depriving them of access to food, water, care, and killing them.
For South Africa to succeed, it must demonstrate that Israel's goal is not only to wipe out Hamas, but also to destroy Palestinians “as such” in Gaza. The country quotes Israeli leaders calling for mass expulsions from Gaza or denying the innocence of anyone there.
Proving genocidal intent will be a challenge, said Adil Haq, a professor of international law at Rutgers University. However, he said, Israel will be called upon to explain: “How could all these military and political leaders issue such extreme statements?”
Amichai Cohen, a law professor at Israel's Ono Academic College, said the South African case reflects “classic cherry-picking.”
“There have been things said and written on Twitter and written by Israeli politicians that are very problematic,” he said. “But these are not the decision makers.” However, he said the recent rise in calls by right-wing Israeli ministers for Palestinian “exodus” from Gaza “does not help.”
Israel strongly denies these accusations and says South Africa is “criminally complicit” with Hamas.
“We have made it clear in word and deed that we are targeting the monsters of October 7 and are devising ways to uphold international law,” government spokesman Elon Levy said last week.
“Our war is against Hamas, not against the people of Gaza,” IDF spokesman Admiral Daniel Hagari said. He said Tuesday.
Israeli officials say they are not targeting civilians or trying to force Palestinians out of Gaza. Israel accuses Hamas of using civilians as human shields. The government embarked on a public relations campaign to Refute the allegations They impede the delivery of humanitarian aid.
Israeli officials accuse Hamas and its allied groups of waging a genocidal campaign against Jews. On Wednesday, the government published a website intended for foreign viewers containing graphic images from the October 7 attacks and their repercussions.
But the ICJ only has the power to examine allegations against states, not armed groups.
Who will argue and try the case?
John Dugard, a human rights specialist from South Africa, leads his country's legal team. He has extensive experience investigating Israel's alleged human rights violations in the occupied Palestinian territories, and served as a special judge at the International Court of Justice.
The Israeli defense team is headed by British lawyer Malcolm Shaw, who specializes in regional disputes and defended the United Arab Emirates, Cameroon and Serbia before the International Court of Justice.
Cohen said that choosing a respected figure in the field “indicates that Israel takes the issue seriously.”
Each side is allowed to appoint one judge to the judiciary, for a total of 17 judges. These ad hoc judges are supposed to weigh the facts independently, but states tend to appoint judges they believe will be sympathetic to their arguments.
Israel selected former Supreme Court Chief Justice Aharon Barak, a defender of judicial independence and a particular critic of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's efforts to reform Israel's courts. Barak's appointment on Sunday received praise from Israeli centrists and condemnation from Netanyahu's right-wing allies.
Cohen described Barak as “a great defender of the State of Israel.” Barak told the Canadian newspaper “The Globe and Mail” several weeks after the war that Israel's mission and behavior in Gaza did not violate international law.
South Africa chose Dikgang Moseneke, former deputy president of the Constitutional Court. Moseneke helped draft South Africa's interim constitution in 1993, as the country transitioned from apartheid to democracy.
Personal backgrounds of appointees – Barak is a Holocaust survivor; Haque, the Rutgers University professor, said Moseneke had spent time in prison for his anti-apartheid activism, which “could lead to a very interesting clash.”
Why are this week's hearings important?
The hearings are scheduled to consider “temporary measures” to prevent the situation in Gaza from deteriorating while the case progresses. One of the measures South Africa is demanding is for Israel to “stop killing” people in Gaza. South Africa is scheduled to argue its case on Thursday. Israel will respond on Friday.
The order for Moscow to stop fighting in Ukraine demonstrated the limits of the court's authority. Juliet McIntyre, a law lecturer at the University of South Australia who specializes in international courts, said she would be surprised if the court issued a similar order against Israel.
“I think we are likely to see a more careful regime in terms of ensuring that aid, water, etc. are allowed into Gaza, and that Israel has to live up to its obligations,” she wrote in an email.
The only way to implement the ICJ's order is through a vote in the UN Security Council. Any of the five permanent members of the Council, including the United States, could veto any such measure. Secretary of State Antony Blinken this week called the genocide issue “baseless.”
But given recent US efforts to push Israel to do more to reduce civilian deaths, McIntyre wrote, it could provide cover for greater pressure “without being seen as a pushback against Hamas.”
By defending itself in court, Israel accepts its legitimacy – and this will “make it more difficult to challenge court orders later,” Haq said.
John Hudson and Lior Soroka in Tel Aviv contributed to this report.
