The Hague – In a historical precedence, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague convened its first session on Thursday to hear South Africa’s legal argument against Israel, accusing it of committing genocide against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip.
South Africa's legal team built its case on the Israeli occupation's violation of the 1948 Genocide Convention, which was established following the Holocaust. This convention enjoins all nations to prevent such crimes from being repeated. The team urged the United Nations’ highest court to issue an immediate order to suspend the Israeli military campaign in Gaza.
Lawyers highlighted the number of Palestinians who have been martyred, due to the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Strip, which has lasted for over three months and claimed the lives of over 23,000 individuals at the time of the session, most of whom were women and children, in addition to a crisis of displacement and a lack of basic necessities for life.
A Solid Defense Armed with Evidence
The attorneys presented evidence of genocide, including photos of Israeli flags placed on the rubble of civilian homes destroyed by indiscriminate shelling and mass graves of Palestinians, as well as statements from Israeli political and military leaders.
Adila Hashem, the lawyer representing South Africa at the ICJ, stated, "Israel violated Article II of the Genocide Convention, which included the mass killing of Palestinians in Gaza". She noted that "Israel deployed 6,000 bombs per week, sparing no one, including newborn children", and mentioned that UN leaders have described Gaza as a child's graveyard.
In an exclusive interview with Aljazeera Net, Zain Dango, spokesperson for the South African legal team, confirmed they would draft an immediate request for "a ceasefire and an end to the attacks", as well as the urgent need for the flow of humanitarian aid into the Strip.
Former leader of the UK Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, praised the "impressive file" for being "prepared with utmost care, and addressed the torture convention that the Israeli government and its army have violated", according to his statement.
Corbyn mentioned in his discussion with Aljazeera Net that the legal delegation also referred to "statements made by senior politicians, including Benjamin Netanyahu, where they clarified their intent to expel Palestinians, saying that there are no innocent civilians in the Gaza Strip".
The British politician, who had joined the South African team, pointed to the dire humanitarian situation in the besieged Strip, stating that “the number of people now dying from the diseases surpasses the number of those killed by the bombs; there is a health and psychological crisis that will continue for decades to come”.
Meanwhile, Tayeb Ali, a lawyer in international law who attended the hearing, emphasized the strength of the suit that shed light on the historical details leading to the current situation. "The importance lies in presenting a true understanding of what Israel is exactly doing on the ground", he stated.
According to the spokesperson, the legal team presented irrefutable evidence of the grave violations of international law and the destruction wreaked by the Israeli military on residential buildings, water and humanitarian aid cutoffs, and targeting of hospitals—incidents that constitute "cornerstones of war crimes".
"A Weak Card for Pressure"
Former Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki considered Israel's defense to be very weak because it will rely mainly on two points. The first is "playing the role of the victim" concerning what happened on October 7th, countered by South Africa's argument that regardless of the severity of the attack, it cannot be reciprocated with genocide. The second point will focus on the issue of "anti-Semitism", at a time when around 660 Israelis expressed their support for the suit in an unprecedented move.
Marzouki, after leaving the ICJ session, stated to Aljazeera Net that this file "puts Israel in a huge embarrassment, and the judges today face a historical responsibility. If they do not make the correct decision and condemn or at least request a halt to the war, they will be committing a crime against humanity as a whole".
As for Tayeb Ali, he contemplates the self-defense argument to be intriguing. Under the United Nations Charter, self-defense falls under Article 51, which prescribes that a state uses it to protect itself from an aggressive state. "However, the situation in Gaza is entirely different because Israel is the occupying force, and the Palestinians are defending themselves", he said.
Consequently, regardless of how horrendous or awful the event of October 7th was, it does not justify what Israel has done over the past months, describing the Israeli aggression as "a vindictive response". He then posed the question, "How can it be logical or rational for a response to the killing of 1,200 people – and we know the number is less than that – to result in the genocide of 27,000 people?"
Jeremy Corbyn urged the US and UK to stop the chain of arms and support supply to Israel.
