This past week, attorneys representing Israel and South Africa gave radically divergent accounts of the ongoing conflict in Gaza at The Hague.
An allegation of genocide supported South Africa’s application on Thursday to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for immediate action to halt Israel’s military operation in Gaza.
Israel believes it has the right to self-defense against Hamas, an organization it describes as genocidal, which is why it responded so forcefully on Friday.
A panel of 17 judges, who are accustomed to contentious legal debate, is left to sort through six compelling hours of testimony.
See all of the ICJ’s hearings here.
The court has ruled on and granted temporary measures in the past few years in relation to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the persecution of the Rohingya Muslim minority in Myanmar, and, most recently, a Canada-Netherlands application against Syria to stop acts of torture.
The court now has to decide whether to attempt mediating one of the most divisive disputes in recent memory by using international law.
‘Provisional measures’ sought by South Africa
Judge Joan Donoghue, the president of the court, reminded attorneys at the beginning of the proceedings to focus on the specific issue at hand: whether the emergency “provisional measures” that South Africa is requesting are necessary to save Palestinian lives in Gaza, or whether the court should first address the more general issue of whether Israel’s actions in that region are intended to be genocide.
Attorneys, she reminded them, should “not enter into the merits of the case beyond what is strictly necessary.”
CBC DISCUSSESIsrael, according to South Africa, is committing genocide in Gaza. Israel claims that to be absurd.
The delegations representing Israel and South Africa continued to express their strongly held opinions on the subject while supporting them with images, audio, and video clips.
The delegations representing Israel and South Africa continued to express their strongly held opinions on the subject while supporting them with images, audio, and video clips.
The lawyers for South Africa cited “overwhelming and incontrovertible” evidence of Israel’s genocidal intent, including Israeli attacks that have killed almost 24,000 people in Gaza, the mass displacement, shortages of food, water, and medical aid, as well as statements made by Israeli officials and soldiers on the ground.
“Every day there is mounting, irreparable loss of life, property, dignity and humanity for the Palestinian people,” said Adila Hassim, a lawyer.
