Hearings into South Africa’s genocide case against Israel will get underway at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) this week. [Picture: Frank van Beek/ICJ via Getty Images]
Apartheid Israel’s day of reckoning will be a few steps closer when the International Court of Justice (ICJ) begins hearing South Africa’s case of genocide against them. A delegation, led by justice minister Ronald Lamola, will attend the hearings in The Hague on Thursday, more than three months after the apartheid state unleashed its fiercest attack on Gaza.
Speaking in an interview on Democracy Now, American human rights lawyer Francis Boyle said he was convinced South Africa would secure a ‘cease and desist’ order from the court.
“Based on my careful review of all the documents so far submitted by the Republic of South Africa,” he said, “I believe South Africa will win an order against Israel to cease and desist from committing all acts of genocide against the Palestinians.”
The professor of international law at the University of Illinois College of Law, who was involved in achieving justice for war crimes in Bosnia said such an order would oblige “all contracting parties (153 states) … to ‘prevent’ the genocide by Israel against the Palestinians”.
SMread: Yemen’s Houthis sole supporters of the Palestinian cause in the Arab world
South African delegation at ICJ
When Lamola leads the delegation to the ICJ this week, it will have the backing of a number of countries, political parties, movements and people calling for an end to the terrorist Israeli state’s murderous rampage in the Gaza Strip.
Within the delegation are directors-general in the presidency and the departments of international relations & co-operation and justice & constitutional development, as well as a special adviser to President Cyril Ramaphosa.
A number of countries have also expressed support for Pretoria’s effort to obtain an emergency suspension of the military (genocide) campaign waged by Israel. Bolivia, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Namibia, the Maldives and Pakistan have all backed the case.
Ahead of the hearings, Lamola said: “We are most encouraged by leaders of the world who have not blunted their consciousness and have stood on the right side of history by supporting a case that seeks to protect the rights of human beings, regardless of their nationality or ethnicity”.
Meanwhile, Boyle accused the International Criminal Court (ICC) of having “all the blood of the Palestinian people on its hands since 2009” as it merely operated “at the behest of its funders and founders and masters” – referring to the US and NATO. The ICC is a separate entity already that is considering allegations of war crimes.
While he anticipated a ruling within a week from the start of the hearings, Israel continued to endanger the lives of civilians in the besieged enclave. No fewer than 23 357 Palestinians have been killed and more than 59 410 wounded since 7 October.
