Hamas has praised the formation of an international alliance focused on legal and diplomatic measures against Israel’s violations of international law.
The Palestinian Resistance movement Hamas has welcomed the establishment of an alliance of countries aimed at coordinating legal, diplomatic and economic measures against Israel’s violations of international law, calling it “an important step”.
“We commend the initiative of South Africa, Malaysia, Namibia, Colombia, Bolivia, Chile, Senegal, Honduras and Belize in establishing The Hague Group,” Hamas said in a statement cited by the Anadolu news agency.
The Hague Group: A New Alliance to Enforce Intl Law against Israel
The movement described the initiative as “an important and key step at the international level to end this racist and fascist occupation.”
It added that “There will be no end to the Zionist occupation system without raising its cost and isolating it globally, as was done with the apartheid regime in South Africa.”
“There will be no deterrent to Zionist war criminals without achieving international justice against them, just as was done with Nazi and fascist leaders,” the statement continued.
Credibility of IHL
Hamas called on the countries of the world “to join the group in support of humanity, which has been disregarded by the Zionist occupation system in Palestine, and to restore the credibility of international humanitarian law and human rights laws, which have been violated by the principles of genocide warfare.”
Representatives of the nine countries gathered in The Hague, the Netherlands on Friday in a meeting hosted by Progressive International, a global political organization comprised of activists and organizations worldwide.
On Friday, nine countries announced the formation of The Hague Group to defend Palestinian rights.
“The Hague Group aims to build a bulwark to protect international law.”
— @VarshaGandikota, Co-General Coordinator of the @ProgIntlpic.twitter.com/syHde8GJAF
— Progressive International (@ProgIntl) February 1, 2025
“This is a group for collective action at a national level, international level and at a multilateral level,” Varsha Gandikota-Nellutla, the Co-General Coordinator of Progressive International, said at the launch.
“Because we live in an interconnected world, and as we’ve seen clearly with Israel’s actions in Gaza, the mechanisms of injustice are found in the fabric of global supply chains,” she explained.
“We know that advanced weaponry cannot be built without technology, without materials, without components, from factories that span across continents. We know that they can’t be shipped to be used against the Palestinian people without using ports and logistics networks that are on each of our own soils and each of our own territories,” Gandikota-Nellutla continued.
Arrest Warrants, Transfer of Arms
The statement adopted following the meeting, committed the states to: uphold the arrest warrants issued against Israeli officials by the International Criminal Court; prevent provision or transfer of arms, munitions and related equipment to Israel, where there is a clear risk that they might be used to violate international law; and prevent the docking of vessels at any of their ports where there is a risk of the vessel being used to carry military fuel and weaponry to Israel.
The statement adopted following the meeting commits states to:
1. Uphold the arrest warrants issued against Israeli officials by the International Criminal Court;
2. Prevent provision or transfer of arms, munitions and related equipment to Israel, where there is a clear risk…
— Progressive International (@ProgIntl) January 31, 2025
Alvin Botes, South Africa’s Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, highlighted that the international community “cannot proclaim the importance of international law, including that of the UN Charter, if it is only applied in some situations and not in others.”
“Enabling Israel to simply ignore decisions of the Courts and the United Nations with no consequence, is negatively impacting the integrity of the international legal order, including the organisations that are mandated to ensure accountability and ending impunity,” Botes stressed.
ICJ Case
In December 2023, South Africa filed a case of genocide against Israel at the ICJ, accusing Israel of violating the 1948 Genocide Convention. Several countries have since joined the case, including Ireland, Türkiye, Nicaragua, Spain, Mexico, and Colombia.
Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur for the oPT, welcomed the formation of the group.
The Hague Group Rises: Will South Africa’s NPA Answer the Call for Justice?
“This is absolutely the best news that has come from a coalition of policy-makers in a long time. Let it be justice. Let’s make it real. And let’s keep growing,” Albanese said on X.
The Permanent Representative of Palestine in the Netherlands, Ambassador Ammar Hijazi, said “Today is an important day not only for Palestine but for humanity as a whole.”
(PC, Anadolu)
