Israeli officials are bracing for an expected interim ruling from the international court of justice on South Africa’s allegation that the war in Gaza amounts to genocide against Palestinians, an emergency measure that could expose Israel to international sanctions.
The UN’s top court, which settles disputes between states, said on Wednesday that it would hand down its landmark ruling on Friday. The Hague-based body could order Israel to stop its three-month campaign in the Gaza Strip, sparked by the unprecedented attack by Hamas on 7 October. ICJ rulings are binding and cannot be appealed against, although the court has no power to enforce them.
South Africa filed a case against Israel before the court in December, alleging that the devastating offensive, which has killed 25,700 people, amounts to state-led genocide and stands in breach of the UN’s genocide convention, signed in 1948 as the world’s response to the Holocaust.
The full ruling is likely to take years, and the court is only looking at South Africa’s request for emergency measures to protect Palestinians from potential breaches of the convention on Friday. International legal experts believe an interim decision against Israel this week could serve as a pretext for sanctions.
Lawyers for South Africa alleged in their opening arguments in The Hague that Israel’s bombing campaign amounted to the “destruction of Palestinian life” and had pushed people to the brink of famine.
Israel has dismissed the allegations as “grossly distorted”, arguing it has a right to defend itself after the 7 October attack that killed 1,400 people, and that its offensive is targeting Hamas rather than the Palestinian people as a whole.
Source: The Guardian
Recent Comments