* South Africa filed a case of genocide against Israel at the ICJ.
* The former blames lsrael for mass civilian killings despite lsrael denials.
* South Africa's president Cyril Ramaphosa long declared his support for the Palestinians who have long suffered apartheid like occupation.
South Africa has recently accused lsrael of genocide and has forwarded its case to the ICJ to judge citing atrocities that have led to the death of over 22,400 Palestinians with more than half being women and children. The Ramaphosa goverment continued to emphasize that lsrael doesn't intend to wipeout the Hamas but all the Palestinians in the Gaza area. However Israel continues to deny the allegations calling them baseless. Based at Hague in Netherlands, the ICJ was established after world war two to give advisory opinions on legal matters as well as well as settle disputes between member states however it lacks the mandate to prosecute individuals of severe crimes such as genocide unlike the ICC but it's opinions carry weight with the U.N and other international institutions.
Ever since lsrael launched it's offensive in response to the October 7th attcaks in southern lsrael that claimed 1200 civilian lives and 240 hostages taken, 23,000 people mainly women and children have been killed and the evidencce submitted by South Africa claims that the acts and omissions by South Africa are genocidal in nature because they are expected to bring about destruction of a substantial part of the Palestinian national, ethnical and racial group. This refers to what lsrael is actually doing which is increasing both air and ground strikes as well as what it has actually failed to do which is ensuring civilian safety which is very evident because under internatonal law, genocide is defined as committing acts that are intended to wipe out part or the whole of a religious, natinal, ethnical or racial sect. Those acts can include inflicting physical harm on a group, carrying out actions that prevent birth within the group or subjection to harsh conditions that endanger the lives of the group.
South Africa wants the ICJ to immediately order Israel to suspend its military actions in the Gaza strip which is theoretically possible but practically unenforceable. In 2022, the ICJ ordered Russia to suspend its military activities in Ukraine but the order was ignored and the war has since rages on to a third year. lsrael on the other hand expects the war wage on until late 2024. South Africa has long been critical of the lsraeli military action in Gaza with the governing African National Congress showing strong support and solidarity for the Palestinians. Last month, President Ramaphosa told South African Jewish leaders that his government stands with the Palestinians who have long withstood seven decades of lsraeli brutal occupation-more of a form of modern day apartheid.
