South Africa appealed to the UN court to recognize Israel's actions in the Gaza Strip as genocide

 

The Republic of South Africa (South Africa) has applied to the International Court of Justice in The Hague to rule that Israel violated its obligations under the 1948 Genocide Convention by its actions in the Gaza Strip. This was reported on December 29 on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the country.

"The application in this regard was filed with the Court on December 29, 2023, in which the Court is invited to urgently announce that Israel, in violation of its obligations under the Genocide Convention, must immediately cease all actions that violate this document and the obligations arising from it," the message reads.

According to the African country, Israel's actions against the residents of the Gaza Strip are in the nature of genocide, as they are committed to "destroy the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip as part of a broader Palestinian national, racial and ethnic group," according to a statement sent to the Court. South Africa asked to hold the country accountable and at the same time recalled that it condemns any attack on civilians, including Israelis.

In response, the Israeli Foreign Ministry asked the International Court of Justice to reject the claims of South Africa and called them "a blood libel," The Times of Israel reports. In addition, according to the Israeli side, South Africa cooperates with a terrorist group that calls for the destruction of the Israeli state.

"Israel rejects with disgust the bloody libel spread by South Africa in its application to the International Court of Justice. The South African lawsuit has neither a factual nor a legal basis and constitutes a vile and contemptuous exploitation of the court," the Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Earlier, on December 28, the Palestinian news agency WAFA reported that several civilians, mostly children and women, were killed or injured in the shelling of the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip. Also on Wednesday, Israeli aircraft carried out several raids on the city center of Khan Yunis.

On December 24, it was reported that 70 people were killed in the IDF shelling of the Al-Magazi refugee camp in the Gaza Strip. At the same time, later, on December 27, it became known that the total number of deaths as a result of Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) strikes on the Gaza Strip increased to 21,000 people.

On December 12, the UN General Assembly (GA) adopted a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in the zone of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. 153 states voted for the resolution, including Russia and China, 10 countries voted against it, and another 23 states abstained.

The situation in the Middle East escalated on the morning of October 7, when Hamas subjected Israel to massive rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip, as well as invaded the border areas in the south of the country and took hostages. On the same day, Israel began retaliating targets in the Gaza Strip.

The Palestinians are seeking to regain the borders between the two countries along the lines that existed before the 1967 Six-Day War. Palestine wants to create its state in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem wants to make it the capital. Israel refuses the conditions.