Israel says it is waging war against Palestinian militants, not the Palestinian people.
To defend its accusations of genocide, South Africa also pointed to Israel's relentless bombing campaign and to comments by Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant, who said early in the war that Israel would impose a complete blockade as part of a battle against “human animals.” .
“The evidence of genocidal intent is not only horrifying, it is overwhelming and indisputable,” Ngcukaitobi said.
The 1948 Genocide Convention, passed in the wake of the mass killing of Jews in the Nazi Holocaust, defines genocide as “acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.”
Pro-Israel demonstrators march toward the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands.credit: Bloomberg
Emergency ruling
Since Israeli forces launched their offensive, almost all of the 2.3 million residents of Gaza, one of the most densely populated places in the world, have been expelled from their homes at least once, causing a humanitarian catastrophe.
“Every day, there is an increasing and irreparable loss of life, property, dignity and humanity of the Palestinian people,” said Adela Hashem, a lawyer at the Supreme Court of South Africa.
“Nothing will stop the suffering except by order of this court.”
Post-apartheid South Africa has long championed the Palestinian cause, a relationship that formed when the African National Congress' struggle against white minority rule was encouraged by Yasser Arafat's Palestine Liberation Organization.
South Africa concluded its arguments by demanding emergency measures to stop the war, and the court is scheduled to hear Israel's response on Friday.
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The court is expected to rule on potential emergency measures later this month, but will not rule on genocide allegations at that time, as such measures could take years.
The ICJ's decisions are final and not subject to appeal – but the court has no way to enforce them.
South Africa points in its judicial files to Israel's failure to provide food, water, medicine and other basic aid to Gaza, where Hamas seized power in 2007, two years after Israel withdrew settlers and soldiers from the Strip.
Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas official, told Reuters that the movement is following the court proceedings with great interest.
He added: “Justice will be tested today.” We call on the court to reject all pressures and take a decision to criminalize the Israeli occupation and stop the aggression against Gaza.
Reuters
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