The case filed by South Africa against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on December 29 is scheduled for hearing on the 11th and 12th of this month. South Africa, which suffered apartheid for a very long period, could easily understand the severity of the genocide carried out by the Zionist state in Gaza. Another case filed by Chile at the International Criminal Court (ICC) accuses various Israeli leaders of war crimes. (Complaints against states go to the ICJ, and those against individuals go to the ICC). South Africa's complaint, which accuses Israel of genocide, paints the picture of Israel’s slaughter of innocent civilians in Gaza across 84 pages. Now South Africa is seeking interim decision, not final judgment. It is not a judgment of whether Israel has violated the Global Convention on Genocide, but a judgment of whether the crimes alleged in the complaint amount to genocide if they have been committed. The petition was prepared by South Africa's best lawyers, covering international law, facts related to the massacre in the Gaza Strip, UN reports and similar proceedings at the Hague Court (International Court of Justice). Israel maintains that the allegations are baseless. What needs to be seen are the findings of the court, which rules based on facts, beyond arguments.
Within three months, Israel has made Gaza uninhabitable. A quarter of a million people have already been killed there. Hospitals, schools, cultural monuments and Muslim and Christian places of worship have been vandalized. South Africa's plea points out that genocidal intent is clear in Israel's crimes. The deliberate slaughtering of civilians, the weaponization of disease and starvation, the displacement of civilian communities, and the public spewing of poison by leaders all reveal this motive. South Africa has enumerated Israel's crimes including not preventing genocide, committing genocide, conspiring to commit it, and overtly and covertly inciting it. About 70 per cent of the victims are women and children. War has inflicted severe physical and psychological injuries on those left behind. About 85 per cent of the Gazan population, including the elderly and the sick, were evicted from their homes. The ICJ should intervene to stop these crimes - and urgently end through interim ruling Israel's military actions. Legal experts observe that the document submitted by South Africa has sufficient evidence and is free of loopholes. Meanwhile, there is a possibility that the court may take weeks for even an interim ruling. Israel, on the other hand, continues and expands the slaughter unabated, meaning that the courts are no solution to the inhumanity.
The weaknesses of the court itself are not negligible. There have been many instances where member states ignored court rulings. South Africa and Israel have ratified the ICJ. However, Israel may ignore the judgment if it is against them. Delay in court proceedings also obstructs justice. Apart from this, there are political considerations and partiality. All this has prevented the United Nations' highest court of justice from forcing the member states to implement its rulings. The way forward for the parties to enforce the judgment is to complain to the United Nations Security Council. With the veto system, the ultimate weapon of injustice, the Security Council has become a helpless body. The fact that the world powers are not punished for war crimes is not because they did not commit them. Until now, those convicted by the World Court have primarily been from third-world countries. Even if the ICJ rules against Israel, what will happen is that the country’s reputation (if any is left) will be tarnished. There are those who think that even the decision of ICJ can be influenced by politics. Five of the 15 judges are from Security Council member countries. The ten others include India's Dalveer Bhandari. Only a few countries such as Morocco, Brazil, Somalia, Yemen, and Jamaica have taken a political stand against Israel. There are some who wonder whether, no matter how legally strong the case is, it won’t fizzle out in the face of politics. One thing is for sure: this is not only a problem of Gaza, but a question of whether justice should prevail in the world. History will later judge how many people are left there to say that it should be.