Judges at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) will now determine whether Israel violated the 1948 Convention on Genocide by attempting to “destroy a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group, in whole or in part,” as a result of its war in Gaza.
There isn’t really a more important issue.
The intense emotions surrounding the conflict that erupted on October 7 of last year have been heavily exploited by both sides.
During the Hamas attack on southern Israel, about 240 people were taken hostage and 1,300 people, the majority of whom were civilians, were killed.
The health ministry run by Hamas reports that over 23,350 people have died as a result of Israeli retaliatory attacks on Gaza, the majority of whom were women and children.
A long list of alleged Israeli offenses, ranging from the willful destruction of Gaza’s infrastructure to the indiscriminate killing of Palestinian civilians, were included in the case that South Africa brought before the International Court of Justice.
“This killing is nothing short of destruction of Palestinian life,” stated Adila Hassin, a lawyer from South Africa.
The South African team contended that it was impossible to permit Israel’s war in Gaza to continue.
“Entire multi-generational families will be obliterated,” Blinne N Ghrálaigh, an Irish lawyer, “and yet more Palestinian children will become WCNSF – Wounded Child No Surviving Family – the terrible new acronym borne out of Israel’s genocidal assault.”
