Gaza: South Africa sues Israel for genocide at the World Court

South Africa has filed a lawsuit against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), accusing it of committing genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

The application, submitted on 29 December 2023, alleges that Israel has violated its obligations under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (the Genocide Convention) by intentionally and systematically destroying Palestinians in Gaza as part of a broader campaign against the Palestinian people.

South Africa claims that Israel has failed to prevent and punish the direct and public incitement to genocide, and that it continues to engage in and risk further genocidal acts against the Palestinian population in Gaza.

South Africa invokes Article IX of the Genocide Convention, which allows any party to the convention to submit a dispute to the ICJ, the principal judicial organ of the United Nations. Both South Africa and Israel are parties to the convention.

South Africa also requests the ICJ to indicate provisional measures, which are urgent and temporary orders to protect the rights of the parties pending the final decision of the case. South Africa seeks to prevent 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 not to engage in, prevent and punish genocide.

The ICJ, which is based in The Hague, Netherlands, has a priority to deal with requests for provisional measures, according to its rules. The ICJ has the power to settle legal disputes between states and to give advisory opinions on legal questions referred to it by authorized UN organs and agencies.

The application instituting proceedings, which includes the request for provisional measures, is available on the ICJ’s website.

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