The stage is set for a battle at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) this Thursday, as South Africa brings its case of genocide against Israel.
Here is everything you need to know as the court case gets underway:
What is the International Court of Justice?
The ICJ is the United Nations’s top court. It was set up after the Second World War to solve disputes between countries.
What is the case against Israel?
Last month, South Africa filed a case of genocide against the ICJ over its military operation in Gaza.
After the 7 October attacks, when Hamas militants killed over 1,200 Israeli civilians and kidnapped around 250 more, Israel declared war and launched a brutal military campaign.
In the months since the attack, over 23,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza – mostly from airstrikes and the following ground offensive.
In its mission to wipe out Hamas and free Israeli hostages, the Israeli Defense Force flattened large sections of the city with airstrikes, cut off supplies of food, water and electricity, and has targeted hospitals and refugee camps.
South Africa’s Presidency said that it filed a case with the ICJ “to prevent genocide from occurring”.
“South Africa is gravely concerned with the plight of civilians caught in the present Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip due to the indiscriminate use of force and forcible removal of inhabitants,” it said.
What is genocide?
Under international law, genocide is defined as committing one or more acts with the intention to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group.
In short, it is the crime of wiping out a people.
South Africa says that “acts and omissions” by Israel “are genocidal in character because they are intended to bring about the destruction of a substantial part of the Palestinian national, racial and ethnical group”.
What has Israel said?
The Israeli government has denied the accusations. The president, Benjamin Netanyahu, said: “No, South Africa, it is not we who have come to perpetrate genocide, it is Hamas… It would murder all of us if it could.”
The country vowed to fight against South Africa’s “blood libel” in court.
How long will the case last?
The court will open on Thursday for two days of hearings, and it is likely to take years to reach an end. However, an interim measure could be taken by the court in weeks.
Who is representing South Africa?
Media reports indicate that the team is led by John Dugard, a former UN special rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories. Renowned as one of South Africa’s leading experts in international law, Dugard brings experience from his time at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), including his role as an ad hoc judge in 2008.
The South African legal team also includes esteemed members such as senior counsel Adila Hassam, advocate Tembeka Ngcukaitobi of the Johannesburg Bar and international lawyer Max Du Plessis.
The team is strengthened by the contributions of lawyers Tshidiso Ramogale, Sarah Pudifin-Jones, and Lerato Zikalala. Additionally, Irish lawyer Blinne Ni Ghralaigh and British barrister Vaughan Lowe are employed as external counsel.
What will happen if South Africa wins?
South Africa is asking the court to order Israel to stop its war in Gaza immediately, but even if it wins the case, Israel is unlikely to listen to such an order.
Pictured above: Devastating scenes in Gaza.
Image source: X
