THE HAGUE – On Thursday, South Africa urged the U.N.’s top court to order a halt to Israel’s offensive on Rafah, saying attacks on Gaza city “must be stopped” to ensure the survival of the Palestinian people.
South Africa’s ambassador to the Netherlands, Vusimuzi Madonsela, asked judges to order Israel to “immediately, totally and unconditionally withdraw the Israeli army from the entirety of the Gaza Strip.”
The two days of hearings at the International Court of Justice, also known as the World Court, are part of a case brought by South Africa accusing Israel of genocide.
Israel, which has denounced South Africa’s claim that it is violating the 1949 Genocide Convention as baseless, will respond in court on Friday.
Last week South Africa asked for additional emergency measures to protect Rafah, where more than a million Palestinians have been sheltering.
South Africa also asked the court to order Israel to allow unimpeded access to Gaza for U.N. officials, organizations providing humanitarian aid, journalists and investigators.
Israel’s military campaign has killed tens of thousands of children and women, destroyed civilian infrastructure and starved the population, South Africa’s legal team told the court.
“From the onset Israel’s intent was always to destroy Palestinian life and to wipe them off the face of the earth,” Tembeka Ngcukaitobi, one of the legal team, said. “Rafah is the final stand.”
“Israel must be stopped,” said Adila Hassim, another lawyer for South Africa. “South Africa is before you again today to respectfully ask the court to invoke its powers… to order a remedy that will stop Israel.”
Posting on social media, Israel’s Foreign Ministry said, “South Africa’s claims are both morally and factually distorted” and Israel’s military abides by international law.
“The terrorists of Hamas are using South Africa in their attempt to exploit the International Court of Justice (ICJ),” it said.
The Israel Defense Forces’ operations against Hamas in Gaza, “are carried out while implementing measures to minimize harm to civilians and civilian facilities, alongside the continuing transfer of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip,” the foreign ministry said. It called on judges to reject South Africa’s requests.
At least 35,272 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s seven-month-old assault on the Gaza Strip, health officials in the enclave said on Thursday.
“Man-made starvation”
Israel says it needs to eliminate Hamas for its own protection and in previous filings to the ICJ it has stressed that it has stepped up efforts to get humanitarian aid into Gaza as the court had ordered.
South Africa attorney Max du Plessis said Israel’s declared humanitarian zones — areas it ordered Gazans into to avoid military operations — were a “cruel distortion” because people were often too starved to flee. Those strong enough to leave to shelters were sometimes attacked by Israeli forces.
“There is nothing humanitarian about these humanitarian zones,” he said. “Israel’s genocide of Palestinians continues through military attacks and man-made starvation.”
This week’s hearings will only focus on issuing emergency measures and it will likely take years before the court can rule on the underlying charge of genocide.
In January, the court ordered Israel to ensure its troops commit no genocidal acts against Palestinians in Gaza, allow in more humanitarian aid and preserve any evidence of violations.
The ICJ’s rulings and orders are binding and without appeal. While the court has no way to enforce them, an order against a country could hurt its international reputation and set legal precedent.
– Reuters. Edited for style.
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