Where does the world stand on South Africa's genocide case against Israel? – Middle East Eye

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) will hold its first hearing of South Africa’s genocide case against Israel on Thursday. Several countries have already revealed their positions on the unprecedent case filed to the Hague-based court.
The 84-page lawsuit, filed on 29 December, claims Israel violated the 1948 Geneva Convention, put in place in the aftermath of the Second World War and the Holocaust.
In its submission, South Africa calls for a halt to Israel’s military activities in Gaza, which have killed over 23,000 Palestinians, including at least 9,000 children.
As both South Africa and Israel are signatories to the UN Genocide Convention, the ICJ has jurisdiction to rule on any state disputes over the treaty.
Here are the reactions from states and international bodies.
The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)
One of the earliest reactions to the case came from the OIC, a 57-member bloc of Muslim-majority countries, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco and Iran.
The organisation expressed its support for the case on 30 December and is the main international body backing the case at the time of publication.
Malaysia
The Malaysian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that it “welcomes the application by South Africa instituting proceedings against Israel before the International Court of Justice” and called on Israel to “end its atrocities against Palestinians”.
Malaysia, the first country to publicly endorse South Africa, has no diplomatic relations with Israel and does not recognise the state at all. It has regularly condemned Israel’s actions against Palestinians on the international stage.
Turkey
Turkey’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, expressing its support for the South African lawsuit.
Prior to 7 October, Turkey and Israel seemed to be mending ties after years of tensions. That changed following the war on Gaza, with Turkey recalling its ambassador to Israel over the “humanitarian tragedy” in Gaza.
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan even claimed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was no different from Hitler.
Netanyahu hit back, accusing Erdogan of committing genocide against Kurdish people.
Jordan
Jordan’s foreign minister Ayman Safadi said on 4 January that his country backs South Africa’s lawsuit.
Jordan is the second Arab country to have normalised ties with Israel, in 1994, but faces pressure to take bold attitudes against the state.
A significant portion of the country’s population is of Palestinian descent and holds regular protests against Israel whenever a war or security situation breaks out in Palestine.
Jordan recalled its ambassador to Israel on 1 November and is, to this point, the only Arab country to have endorsed the lawsuit.
Bolivia
Bolivia called South Africa’s move a “historic step in the defence of the Palestinian people” and strongly endorsed the genocide case.
Bolivia, along with South Africa, Bangladesh, Comoros and Djibouti “presented a request to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate the situation in the State of Palestine” on 17 November.
The country severed ties with Israel on 31 October and recalled its envoy.
Other countries, such as Venezuela, Pakistan, Bangladesh, the Maldives, Namibia and Nicaragua also expressed their support.
France and Costa Rica reiterated their trust in the ICJ, and France said it would support whatever decision the court reaches.
Mexico, meanwhile, called on states to refrain from using their veto power should they oppose the court’s findings.
Several states, most notably Israel’s western backers, are openly against the lawsuit.
Most notably, the United States repeatedly denied that Israel is guilty of genocide, calling South Africa’s submission “meritless” and “counterproductive”.
Similarly, British Foreign Secretary David Cameron referred to the case as “unhelpful” and reiterated that Israel has “the right to defend itself”.
Ireland, a longtime supporter of Palestinian rights, announced it would not join South Africa in the lawsuit, with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar saying they “need to be careful” with the use of the term “genocide” and wondering if actions by Hamas during the 7 October attack could also be classified as such.
Guatemala also opposed the case, and Hungary’s foreign minister went as far as calling it a “legal attack against Israel”.
Copyright © 2014 – 2023. Middle East Eye. All rights reserved. Only England and Wales jurisdiction apply in all legal matters.
Middle East Eye          ISSN 2634-2456                     

source

About The Author

admin

See author's posts