Ireland has officially intervened in South Africa’s genocide case against Israel, asserting its stance on the violations of the Genocide Convention related to Gaza.
Ireland has submitted a declaration to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to join South Africa’s genocide case against Israel, the court announced on Tuesday.
“Ireland, invoking Article 63 of the Statute of the Court, filed in the Registry of the Court a declaration of intervention in the case concerning Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip,” the ICJ said in a statement.
Irish Foreign Minister Micheál Martin had previously announced that Ireland would join the case after receiving government approval to do so under the Genocide Convention.
Article 63 allows any state party to a convention currently under judicial consideration the right to intervene, meaning the ICJ’s interpretation of the convention will also be binding on those states.
In December 2023, South Africa filed a case against Israel, alleging violations of the Genocide Convention regarding Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Since then, several countries, including Nicaragua, Colombia, Libya, Mexico, Palestine, Spain, and Türkiye, have joined the case.
Ireland to Join ICJ Case against Israel – Seeks Broader Definition of Genocide
‘Collective Punishment’
Ireland confirmed its decision to intervene in the case on December 12, following the approval of its government.
“There has been a collective punishment of the Palestinian people through the intent and impact of military actions of Israel in Gaza, leaving 44,000 dead and millions of civilians displaced,” Foreign Minister Micheál Martin said on Wednesday.
“By legally intervening in South Africa’s case, Ireland will be asking the ICJ to broaden its interpretation of what constitutes the commission of genocide by a State,” Martin noted.
He stated that Ireland was “concerned that a very narrow interpretation of what constitutes genocide leads to a culture of impunity in which the protection of civilians is minimized.”
“Ireland’s view of the Convention is broader and prioritizes the protection of civilian life – as a committed supporter of the Convention, the Government will promote that interpretation in its intervention in this case,” Martin continued.
Dublin’s ‘Consistency’
The Irish cabinet also approved intervention in The Gambia’s case against Myanmar under the same Convention.
Martin said intervening in both cases “demonstrates the consistency of Ireland’s approach to the interpretation and application of the Genocide Convention.”
‘Barbaric War’
The case accusing Israel of genocide was brought by South Africa Israel in December last year and culminated in the filing of the memorial at the UN’s highest court in The Hague in October.
South Africa’s presidency said in a statement that the memorial “contains evidence which shows how the government of Israel has violated the genocide convention by promoting the destruction of Palestinians living in Gaza.”
President Cyril Ramaphosa said in an address to the Algerian parliament last week that Israel’s “barbaric war” against the people of Gaza must end “and we demand that it should end now.”
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Ongoing Genocide
The ongoing Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip, which began on October 7, 2023, has led to a humanitarian crisis of unprecedented scale. As the death toll among besieged and starved Palestinian civilians continues to rise daily, Israel is currently facing charges of genocide against Palestinians before the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, at least 45,854 Palestinians have been killed, and 109,139 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7, 2023.
The toll is expected to rise further, with at least 11,000 people still unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes across Gaza.
The war, which Palestinians call “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood,” began after a military operation carried out by Hamas on Israeli territory. Israel reports that 1,139 of its soldiers and civilians were killed during the initial attack on October 7. However, Israeli media have raised concerns that a significant number of Israeli casualties were caused by ‘friendly fire’ during the assault.
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Human rights organizations, both Palestinian and international, have reported that the overwhelming majority of the casualties in Gaza are women and children. The ongoing violence has also exacerbated an acute famine, with thousands of children among the dead, highlighting the severity of the humanitarian disaster.
The war has displaced nearly two million people from their homes across Gaza, with the majority of the displaced forced into the already overcrowded southern region of the Strip. The population in Gaza remains trapped in the ongoing conflict, with little access to basic necessities such as food, water, and medical care.
(PC, Anadolu)
