Türkiye, along with Malaysia and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) have officially announced their support for South Africa’s case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
South Africa filed a case last month requesting that the ICJ declare “on an urgent basis that Israel is in breach of its obligations in terms of the Genocide Convention”, and that it “should immediately cease all acts and measures in breach of those obligations and take a number of related actions”.
The submission asks the Court to “indicate provisional measures in order to protect against further, severe and irreparable harm to the rights of the Palestinian people.”
In a statement earlier this week, Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Oncu Keceli, welcomed the application by South Africa.
Israeli officials are concerned that the Hague-based International Court of Justice (ICJ) will charge Israel with genocide in Gaza, Israeli media reported. https://t.co/4oSFXyWv4c pic.twitter.com/NIj5ZFTBqO
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) January 1, 2024
“Israel’s murder of more than 22 thousand Palestinian civilians, the majority of whom were women and children…should not go unpunished in any way, and those responsible for this must be held accountable before international law,” the statement said.
Keceli said “We hope the process will be completed as soon as possible,” and likewise, the ICJ “is expected to issue an interim injunction ordering Israel to stop its attacks on Gaza.”
Malaysia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Tuesday, that the legal action against Israel before the ICJ “is a timely and tangible step towards legal accountability for Israel’s atrocities in Gaza and the Occupied Palestinian Territory at large.”
“As a fellow State Party to the Genocide Convention, Malaysia calls on Israel to fulfill its obligations under international law and to immediately end its atrocities against the Palestinians.”
South Africa had submitted all necessary paperwork to the International Criminal Court (ICC). Now, Pretoria is seeking justice for Gaza at the ICJ. https://t.co/0cs8OaTK0B pic.twitter.com/fzxgCHD7Xw
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) December 29, 2023
Israel to Counter ‘Blood Libel’ Lawsuit
Meanwhile, the 57-member OIC also welcomed the lawsuit, saying that “The OIC has affirmed that the indiscriminate targeting by Israel, the occupying power, of the civilian population and the thousands of Palestinians, … killed, injured, forcibly displaced, and denied basic necessities…in their totality constate mass genocide.”
The OIC further called upon the Court “to respond expeditiously and take urgent measures to stop this mass genocide being perpetrated by the Israeli defense forces in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.”
The ICJ will hold its first public hearing on January 11 in The Hague, to consider the lawsuit filed by South Africa.
Israel has said it will appear before the ICJ to counter what it called “South Africa’s absurd blood libel.”
According to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, “a senior legal expert dealing with the matter has warned IDF brass, including Chief of Staff Herzl Halevi, that there is real danger that the court will issue an injunction calling on Israel to halt its fire, noting that Israel is bound by the court’s rulings”.
https://twitter.com/PalestineChron/status/1743011212470698359
The hearings will be streamed live and on demand in the two official languages of the court, English and French, on the court’s website and on UN Web TV.
To understand the intricacies of this case, and its possible legal and political repercussions on the ongoing Israeli war on the Gaza Strip, the Palestine Chronicle spoke to Dr. Triestino Mariniello. Read what this international law expert had to say here.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
