Reuters picture.
The Hague: The International Court of Justice observed on Friday some of the rights South Africa demanded in its genocide case against Israel in the Gaza crisis are plausible, Reuters reported.
The court acknowledged that the rights of Palestinians in Gaza must be protected from actions contributing to genocide. Palestinians are a protected group under the genocide convention, the court noted.
However, the global court’s ruling on Friday does not comment on the core accusation of whether genocide occurred in Gaza. The court will focus on South Africa’s demand for urgent intervention in the crisis there, Reuters reported.
South African Justice Minister Ronald Lamola had told the ICJ two weeks ago that it was not from October last year, but for 76 years, Palestinians were suffering violence and destruction. He said that Palestinians have been suffering since 1948, Israel Times reported.
“The violence and the destruction in Palestine did not begin on October 7, they have experienced violence for the last 76 years,” Israel Times quoted Lamola.
He continued that Israel had taken control of land crossings and civilian infrastructure in the Gaza Strip since 2004. Israel is operating the entry points, and movement through them is strictly prohibited. Gaza shares a land crossing with Egypt.
The South African minister said that Gaza is still considered to be under occupation by international law. He said that the state of South Africa unilaterally condemned Hamas targeting civilians and taking hostages on October 7, 2023. However, no attack can justify breaches to the convention “whether as a matter of law or morality”, the Israel Times quoted the minister.